Wealth Alliance Has $313,000 Stock Holdings in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Wealth Alliance lifted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,065 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 444 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $313,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Eversource Energy by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 450,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,168,000 after purchasing an additional 43,720 shares in the last quarter. OLD Republic International Corp acquired a new stake in Eversource Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,283,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Eversource Energy by 536.0% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 118,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,298,000 after purchasing an additional 99,652 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its stake in Eversource Energy by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 172,017 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,003,000 after purchasing an additional 17,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in Eversource Energy by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 127,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,859,000 after purchasing an additional 15,770 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on ES. Argus dropped their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $60.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $54.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eversource Energy 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 transaction of $47,774.64. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,388.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 2,714 shares of the business’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 value of $156,326.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,245,369.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Linda Dorcena Forry sold 822 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.12, for a total transaction of $47,774.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,388.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Shares of Eversource Energy stock opened at $58.99 on Friday. Eversource Energy has a 1 year low of $52.03 and a 1 year high of $79.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $58.50 and its 200 day moving average is $57.78.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.85%. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is presently -226.98%.

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.