Yousif Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 213.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 152,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 103,851 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $9,467,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 4,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 19,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,129,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 7,732 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 99.2% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eversource Energy news, EVP Penelope M. Conner sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.00, for a total transaction of $166,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,988 shares in the company, valued at $703,232. This represents a 19.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ES shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $58.00 price target (down previously from $69.00) on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eversource Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.78.

Eversource Energy Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Eversource Energy stock opened at $65.89 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Eversource Energy has a 1 year low of $52.28 and a 1 year high of $69.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $60.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.10. The stock has a market cap of $24.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.52, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.63.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Eversource Energy had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.99%. The company had revenue of $4.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.49 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is 129.74%.

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.