Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Has $26.67 Million Stock Position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lowered its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 464,386 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,066 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.13% of Eversource Energy worth $26,670,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ES. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Eversource Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $808,783,000. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,482,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $367,691,000 after buying an additional 1,579,818 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Eversource Energy by 446.0% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 749,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,019,000 after acquiring an additional 612,421 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in 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 worth $99,554,000 after acquiring an additional 510,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Eversource Energy by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,539,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,737,990,000 after acquiring an additional 430,587 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ES has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays reduced their price objective on Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total transaction of $61,730.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 24,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,535,318.26. This represents a 3.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $192,507.92. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eversource Energy Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ES opened at $60.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The business’s 50-day moving average is $59.94 and its 200-day moving average is $61.89. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 6.82%. Equities research analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This is an increase from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 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.