Bank of America Corp DE Sells 268,784 Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Bank of America Corp DE lowered its holdings in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 15.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,507,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 268,784 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $86,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,095,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,582,000 after acquiring an additional 150,535 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 413,874 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,164,000 after acquiring an additional 17,654 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,562,000 after acquiring an additional 6,641 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 21,206 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,218,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eversource Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $208,000. Institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 approximately $1,411,496.46. This represents a 12.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total transaction of $61,730.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at $1,535,318.26. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ES has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eversource Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.78.

Eversource Energy Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Eversource Energy stock opened at $62.97 on Monday. 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 has a 12-month low of $52.28 and a 12-month high of $69.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.88.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The business had revenue of $4.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.65 billion. Eversource Energy had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.49 EPS. Analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Eversource Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.7525 dividend. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 129.74%.

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.