Kentucky Retirement Systems Cuts Stock Holdings in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its stake in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 338 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $1,410,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northcape Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 14,367 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $825,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 104.5% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 24,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,431,000 after purchasing an additional 3,593 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ES shares. Barclays lowered their target price 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. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ES opened at $63.41 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 twelve month low of $54.75 and a twelve month high of $69.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $58.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.50. The stock has a market cap of $23.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.62.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 6.82%. On average, research analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.7525 per share. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.75%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This is a boost from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 123.81%.

Insider Transactions at Eversource Energy

In other Eversource Energy news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $192,507.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,496.46. This represents a 12.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

About Eversource Energy

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.