Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Cuts Stock Position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its holdings in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,012 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,465 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $3,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ES. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 33.0% during 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 last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC purchased a new stake in Eversource Energy in the 4th quarter worth $744,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $99,554,000 after purchasing an additional 510,582 shares during the last quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA grew 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 valued at $465,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soltis Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy in the third quarter worth about $3,616,000. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Eversource Energy

In other Eversource Energy news, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at $1,535,318.26. This represents a 3.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $192,507.92. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,411,496.46. This represents a 12.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

ES stock opened at $59.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $21.66 billion, a PE ratio of 25.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. Eversource Energy has a 12 month low of $54.75 and a 12 month high of $69.01. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $60.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.7525 dividend. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.10%. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 130.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on ES. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays reduced their price target 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. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.40.

Eversource Energy Company 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.