CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Acquires 56,408 Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 640,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 56,408 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $36,757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ES. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,470,356 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $945,893,000 after acquiring an additional 4,585,232 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $188,838,000. Amundi raised its position in Eversource Energy by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 6,482,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $367,691,000 after purchasing an additional 1,579,818 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,609,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,561,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magellan Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 6,474,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $371,829,000 after purchasing an additional 890,514 shares during the period. 79.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Eversource Energy stock opened at $57.38 on Friday. Eversource Energy has a 12 month low of $52.28 and a 12 month high of $69.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $60.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.56. The firm has a market cap of $21.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.58. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.99%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.7525 dividend. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.25%. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is presently 130.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ES has been the topic of several recent research reports. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of 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 dropped their target price on Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eversource Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.78.

Insider Activity at Eversource Energy

In other Eversource Energy news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,411,496.46. The trade was a 12.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,535,318.26. This represents a 3.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.