Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 6,496 Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Fisher Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 52.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,496 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 40,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,306,000 after acquiring an additional 9,981 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC bought a new position in Eversource Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $744,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,735,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $99,554,000 after purchasing an additional 510,582 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $2,151,000 after purchasing an additional 10,093 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everett Harris & Co. CA increased its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 125.2% during 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. Institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eversource Energy

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 transaction of $192,507.92. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,411,496.46. This trade represents a 12.00 % 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, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,535,318.26. This trade represents a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ES opened at $60.97 on Friday. Eversource Energy has a twelve month low of $54.75 and a twelve month high of $69.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $59.09 and its 200-day moving average is $62.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a $0.7525 dividend. This is a boost from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.94%. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 130.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports 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 on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com cut Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Profile

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.