Private Trust Co. NA Trims Stock Position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Private Trust Co. NA decreased its position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 17.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,244 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 688 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First American Bank grew its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. First American Bank now owns 43,564 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,681,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $780,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 116.7% in the 4th quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $12,251,000. Finally, FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co lifted its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 81.7% in the 4th quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co now owns 5,183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 2,330 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on PEG. Barclays downgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.83.

Public Service Enterprise Group Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE PEG opened at $81.79 on Tuesday. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $61.99 and a 12-month high of $95.22. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market cap of $40.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio is 71.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total value of $114,511.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,791 shares in the company, valued at $10,536,332.10. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by 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.