Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Boosts Holdings in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 75.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 213,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 91,765 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.06% of Eversource Energy worth $13,193,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Eversource Energy by 1.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,296,972 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $404,856,000 after purchasing an additional 134,492 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 2.5% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,628,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $385,457,000 after purchasing an additional 163,053 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,299,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $388,509,000 after purchasing an additional 475,341 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 19.3% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,464,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $259,595,000 after purchasing an additional 723,318 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 2.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,237,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $246,409,000 after purchasing an additional 111,294 shares during the period. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 2,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.60, for a total transaction of $156,326.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,621 shares in the company, valued at $1,245,369.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 2,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.60, for a total transaction of $156,326.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,245,369.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 10,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,388.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus decreased their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $85.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $61.00 to $57.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Eversource Energy to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.85.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ES traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $60.52. 507,878 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,934,163. Eversource Energy has a 52 week low of $52.03 and a 52 week high of $79.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.87.

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

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a $0.715 dividend. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.73%. This is a boost from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -226.98%.

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.