Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Reduces Holdings in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 875,561 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 17,237 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $54,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ES. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Eversource Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $1,257,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Eversource Energy by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,130,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $99,716,000 after buying an additional 158,844 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in Eversource Energy by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 7,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $693,000 after buying an additional 613 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Eversource Energy by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 153,081 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,510,000 after buying an additional 2,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in Eversource Energy by 76.9% in the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 133,385 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,763,000 after buying an additional 57,995 shares in the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eversource Energy news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 2,714 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 21,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,245,369.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 10,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,388.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 2,714 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.60, for a total value of $156,326.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 21,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,245,369.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ES has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded Eversource Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $62.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Eversource Energy from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Argus dropped their target price on Eversource Energy from $85.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 25th. Mizuho raised Eversource Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $54.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Eversource Energy from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.08.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

ES opened at $58.99 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $58.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.78. Eversource Energy has a 12-month low of $52.03 and a 12-month high of $79.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. Eversource Energy’s revenue was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.715 per share. This is an increase from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.85%. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is -226.98%.

Eversource Energy Profile

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.