Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Trims Stock Position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lessened its position in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 82.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,085 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,062 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $62,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,609,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,561,936,000 after buying an additional 1,387,072 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Eversource Energy by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,539,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,737,990,000 after acquiring an additional 430,587 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Eversource Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $808,783,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,933,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $570,500,000 after acquiring an additional 226,972 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 3.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,040,171 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $613,233,000 after purchasing an additional 268,588 shares in the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,411,496.46. This represents a 12.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total value of $61,730.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at $1,535,318.26. This 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ES shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 29th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.40.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:ES opened at $62.68 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Eversource Energy has a fifty-two week low of $54.75 and a fifty-two week high of $69.01. The firm has a market cap of $23.01 billion, a PE ratio of 27.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $60.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.46.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (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 research analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This is an increase from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is presently 130.30%.

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.