New York State Common Retirement Fund Trims Position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 630,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,000 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $36,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 2.8% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 6,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 38.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 1.0% during the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 20,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,368,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 1.8% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 11,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $812,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays dropped their target price 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, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.45.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $192,507.92. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,411,496.46. This trade represents a 12.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of ES opened at $63.39 on Friday. Eversource Energy has a twelve month low of $54.75 and a twelve month high of $69.01. The company has a market cap of $23.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.55.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 11.04%. As a group, analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.7525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.75%. This is an increase from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 130.30%.

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.