Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Shares Sold by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,808 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 319 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ES. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 40,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,306,000 after acquiring an additional 9,981 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC acquired a new stake in Eversource Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $744,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Eversource Energy by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,735,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $99,554,000 after purchasing an additional 510,582 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 46.9% during the third quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 31,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,151,000 after purchasing an additional 10,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everett Harris & Co. CA boosted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 125.2% in the fourth quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 8,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the period. 79.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

ES opened at $59.73 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.86, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $58.96 and a 200-day moving average of $62.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Eversource Energy has a 1-year low of $54.75 and a 1-year high of $69.01.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 6.82%. Equities analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.7525 dividend. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.04%. This is an increase from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is 130.30%.

Insider Activity at Eversource Energy

In other Eversource Energy news, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total transaction of $61,730.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at $1,535,318.26. The trade was a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $192,507.92. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at $1,411,496.46. This trade represents a 12.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on ES. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eversource Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.45.

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.