Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 135.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,942 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American National Bank bought a new position in Eversource Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 275.0% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 315 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Eversource Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Eversource Energy by 130.9% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Eversource Energy to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Eversource Energy from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Eversource Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eversource Energy

In other news, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.12, for a total value of $47,774.64. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $609,388.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.12, for a total transaction of $47,774.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,388.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 2,714 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.60, for a total transaction of $156,326.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,245,369.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,250 shares of company stock valued at $352,014 in the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Eversource Energy Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of ES opened at $58.24 on Tuesday. Eversource Energy has a 52 week low of $52.03 and a 52 week high of $79.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.77.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.02). Eversource Energy had a positive return on equity of 9.92% and a negative net margin of 3.71%. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were paid a $0.715 dividend. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.91%. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is -226.98%.

About Eversource Energy

Eversource Energy, a public utility holding company, engages in the energy delivery business. The company operates through Electric Distribution, Electric Transmission, Natural Gas Distribution, and Water Distribution segments. It is involved in the transmission and distribution of electricity; solar power facilities; and distribution of natural gas.