Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES – Get Rating) by 101.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 909,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 457,902 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.26% of Eversource Energy worth $78,912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Piershale Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Eversource Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Eversource Energy by 571.4% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Eversource Energy by 293.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Eversource Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 77.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Eversource Energy Price Performance
Shares of NYSE:ES traded up $1.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $77.38. The stock had a trading volume of 618,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,791,305. Eversource Energy has a 1 year low of $70.54 and a 1 year high of $94.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $77.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.09. The company has a market cap of $26.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45.
Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Eversource Energy had a return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 11.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Eversource Energy Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 2nd will be paid a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 1st. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is currently 66.83%.
Insider Transactions at Eversource Energy
In related news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 1,943 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.83, for a total transaction of $153,166.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,636,747.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Eversource Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $86.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 21st. UBS Group increased their price target on Eversource Energy from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 1st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $89.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $99.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 15th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eversource Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.55.
Eversource Energy Profile
Eversource Energy engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of natural gas and electricity. It operates through the following segments: Electric Distribution, Electric Transmission, Natural Gas Distribution and Water Distribution. The Electric Distribution segment distributes electricity to retail customers.