John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Acquires 2,482 Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,482 shares during the quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $4,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ES. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 275.0% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 315 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Eversource Energy during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Eversource Energy by 130.9% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Eversource Energy by 40.4% during the third quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

ES traded up $0.70 on Friday, hitting $59.69. 2,314,817 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,976,006. Eversource Energy has a 12 month low of $52.03 and a 12 month high of $79.92. The business has a 50-day moving average of $58.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.16, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.58.

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 positive return on equity of 9.92% and a negative net margin of 3.71%. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. This is an increase from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.79%. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -226.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on ES shares. UBS Group raised shares of Eversource Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Argus decreased their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $85.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $66.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eversource Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of the business’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 value of $47,774.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,388.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.12, for a total value of $47,774.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,388.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 2,714 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 21,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,245,369.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.