Allianz SE Acquires Shares of 24,584 Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Allianz SE acquired a new stake in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 24,584 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,409,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in Eversource Energy by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 38.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Eversource Energy by 1.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $837,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH increased its stake in Eversource Energy by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 9,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Eversource Energy stock opened at $61.13 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.58. Eversource Energy has a 12 month low of $54.75 and a 12 month high of $69.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.44 billion, a PE ratio of 26.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.7525 dividend. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is currently 130.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total value of $61,730.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ES has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eversource Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.40.

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.