EP Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 16,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $935,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in Eversource Energy by 49.7% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 27.4% during the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 860 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Eversource Energy by 4.1% during the second quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 4,780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Eversource Energy by 2.5% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $475,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Eversource Energy by 62.6% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on ES. Mizuho lifted their target price on Eversource Energy from $62.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 27th. Barclays upped their price objective on Eversource Energy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Eversource Energy from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.71.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

ES stock opened at $66.68 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $66.57 and a 200-day moving average of $61.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -56.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.61. Eversource Energy has a 12 month low of $52.03 and a 12 month high of $69.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.95. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Eversource Energy had a negative net margin of 0.81% and a positive return on equity of 10.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were issued a $0.715 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is currently -242.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Penelope M. Conner sold 815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.50, for a total value of $53,382.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,032 shares in the company, valued at $591,596. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Eversource Energy news, EVP Penelope M. Conner sold 500 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.94, for a total transaction of $32,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $639,464.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Penelope M. Conner sold 815 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.50, for a total value of $53,382.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,032 shares in the company, valued at $591,596. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.