Asset Dedication LLC Buys Shares of 718 Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 718 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $41,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ES. Verity & Verity LLC bought a new position in Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $744,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,735,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $99,554,000 after buying an additional 510,582 shares in the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its holdings in Eversource Energy by 46.9% in the 3rd quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 31,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,151,000 after buying an additional 10,093 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Eversource Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,616,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Eversource Energy by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 73,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,198,000 after acquiring an additional 7,967 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ES has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 21st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Eversource Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank cut Eversource Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $66.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.42.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

ES stock opened at $57.37 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.87. The stock has a market cap of $21.02 billion, a PE ratio of -36.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.62. Eversource Energy has a one year low of $52.71 and a one year high of $69.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. Eversource Energy had a negative net margin of 4.73% and a positive return on equity of 10.90%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.7525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.25%. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is -182.17%.

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.