ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 56,569 Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 21.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 205,206 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 56,569 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $12,665,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Eversource Energy by 275.0% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 315 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in Eversource Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Eversource Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Eversource Energy by 130.9% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Eversource Energy by 40.4% during the 3rd quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim raised shares of Eversource Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Argus dropped 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $66.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.08.

Insider Activity at Eversource Energy

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,485 shares in the company, valued at $609,388.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,485 shares in the company, valued at $609,388.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $156,326.40. Following the transaction, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ES traded up $0.70 during trading on Friday, hitting $59.69. 2,314,817 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,984,784. Eversource Energy has a 1-year low of $52.03 and a 1-year high of $79.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $58.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market cap of $20.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -47.37, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.58.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 EPS 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 business had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

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

Eversource Energy Company 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.