Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,357 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $431,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ES. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Eversource Energy by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,139 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Eversource Energy by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Eversource Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,191,000. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Eversource Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 20,905 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after buying an additional 6,490 shares during the period. 79.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Eversource Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Eversource Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Eversource Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eversource Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.46.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Eversource Energy stock opened at $61.85 on Friday. Eversource Energy has a 52-week low of $52.09 and a 52-week high of $69.01. The company’s 50 day moving average is $65.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The firm has a market cap of $22.66 billion, a PE ratio of -39.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.61.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. Eversource Energy had a negative net margin of 4.73% and a positive return on equity of 10.90%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Eversource Energy will post 4.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were paid a $0.715 dividend. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -182.17%.

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.