Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its stake in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 32.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 246,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 118,039 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.07% of Eversource Energy worth $14,147,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Eversource Energy by 99.2% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 104.5% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake 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 period. 79.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 29th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eversource Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.40.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

ES stock opened at $62.68 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $60.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.46. The firm has a market cap of $23.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.58. Eversource Energy has a 1 year low of $54.75 and a 1 year high of $69.01.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This is an increase from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.80%. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.