Advisory Alpha LLC Acquires 403 Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Advisory Alpha LLC raised its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 325.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 799 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on PEG. Scotiabank upped their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Kim C. Hanemann sold 956 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $86,126.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 70,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,307,290.99. This trade represents a 1.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.91, for a total value of $117,005.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 144,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,245,040.92. This represents a 0.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,234 shares of company stock valued at $722,037 in the last ninety days. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

PEG stock opened at $88.22 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.95 billion, a PE ratio of 21.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $56.85 and a 12-month high of $95.22.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.44 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is 58.97%.

About Public Service Enterprise Group

Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, operates in electric and gas utility business in the United States. It operates through PSE&G and PSEG Power segments. The PSE&G segment transmits electricity; distributes electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers; and appliance services and repairs to customers through its service territory, as well as invests in solar generation projects, and energy efficiency and related programs.