National Pension Service Trims Stock Holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

National Pension Service reduced its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 618,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 55,013 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $52,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PEG. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Public Service Enterprise Group Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock opened at $80.76 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $95.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.01. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is 71.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PEG shares. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Barclays downgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.50.

Insider Activity at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.91, for a total transaction of $117,005.98. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 144,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,245,040.92. The trade was a 0.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.