Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) Shares Bought by Sit Investment Associates Inc.

Sit Investment Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 25.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 96,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 19,745 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $8,119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PEG. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

Shares of PEG opened at $77.83 on Friday. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.12, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.52. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $64.03 and a twelve month high of $95.22.

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

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.19%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.88, for a total value of $114,208.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 221,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,372,009.60. The trade was a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on PEG shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.65.

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.