Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) Position Boosted by Pinion Investment Advisors LLC

Pinion Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,867 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $242,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 125.3% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,384,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $285,982,000 after buying an additional 1,882,667 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 19.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,401,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $481,825,000 after acquiring an additional 877,345 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 376.3% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 810,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,321,000 after acquiring an additional 640,485 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 103.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 950,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $80,313,000 after purchasing an additional 483,795 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 179.5% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 706,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,061,000 after purchasing an additional 453,985 shares in the last quarter. 73.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock opened at $81.79 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $40.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $84.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.08. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $61.99 and a fifty-two week high of $95.22.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS 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 $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. This is a positive change from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America cut their price target 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. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays downgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Five investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.83.

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.