Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 59,750 Shares of Eversource Energy $ES

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 48.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 63,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 59,750 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $4,054,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,961,496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,792,559,000 after acquiring an additional 351,780 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Eversource Energy by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,209,804 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,068,901,000 after purchasing an additional 739,448 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in Eversource Energy by 1.1% during the second quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 6,952,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $442,294,000 after purchasing an additional 75,784 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Eversource Energy by 0.5% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,036,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $374,920,000 after purchasing an additional 32,304 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Eversource Energy by 3.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,702,415 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $354,177,000 after buying an additional 185,146 shares in the last quarter. 79.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group cut Eversource Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Eversource Energy in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $79.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Eversource Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $73.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eversource Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.70.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

Eversource Energy stock opened at $73.61 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $27.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.69. Eversource Energy has a twelve month low of $52.28 and a twelve month high of $75.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $70.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.07. Eversource Energy had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 11.06%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.7525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP James W. Hunt III sold 4,129 shares of Eversource Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.77, for a total transaction of $300,467.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 32,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,358,839.55. The trade was a 11.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Loretta D. Keane bought 3,780 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $66.07 per share, with a total value of $249,744.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 12,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $795,020.31. This trade represents a 45.80% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.41% of the stock is owned by 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.