Flputnam Investment Management Co. Buys 4,784 Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 29.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,906 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,784 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $1,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ES. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 101,201.5% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,617,104 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,057,818,000 after purchasing an additional 12,604,649 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $274,262,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Eversource Energy by 4,397.4% during the first quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,072,762 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $83,954,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048,909 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Eversource Energy by 64.0% during the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,285,636 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $193,067,000 after acquiring an additional 891,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in Eversource Energy by 19.3% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,464,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $259,595,000 after acquiring an additional 723,318 shares during the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eversource Energy

In other news, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.12, for a total transaction of $47,774.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,485 shares in the company, valued at $609,388.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Faasen William C. Van sold 2,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total transaction of $147,913.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,619 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,235.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.12, for a total transaction of $47,774.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,388.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,250 shares of company stock valued at $352,014. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eversource Energy Stock Down 1.8 %

ES stock opened at $57.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.77. Eversource Energy has a one year low of $52.03 and a one year high of $79.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3 billion. Eversource Energy had a negative net margin of 3.71% and a positive return on equity of 9.92%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.00%. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently -226.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.08.

Eversource Energy 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.