Park Avenue Securities LLC Grows Position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 2.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,756 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 295 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $917,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ES. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,312 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 1,513 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Eversource Energy by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 5,441 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in Eversource Energy by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 12,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Eversource Energy by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 4,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC increased its position in Eversource Energy by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,885 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Eversource Energy from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $58.00 price target (down from $69.00) on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.78.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ES stock opened at $65.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Eversource Energy has a fifty-two week low of $52.28 and a fifty-two week high of $69.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $61.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.15. The firm has a market cap of $24.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.50, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.63.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. The business had revenue of $4.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. Eversource Energy had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 6.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.49 EPS. Analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 129.74%.

Insider Activity

In other Eversource Energy news, EVP Penelope M. Conner sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.00, for a total value of $166,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $703,232. This trade represents a 19.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.