Aviso Financial Inc. Reduces Holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Aviso Financial Inc. reduced its position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 38.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,765 shares during the period. Aviso Financial Inc.’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 87,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,403,000 after purchasing an additional 18,627 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $8,244,000. Cullen Investment Group LTD. grew its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 65.3% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 26,867 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,270,000 after buying an additional 10,610 shares in the last quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the third quarter worth $2,860,000. Finally, Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI acquired a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at $2,565,000. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,536,332.10. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PEG shares. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective 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. Six 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Public Service Enterprise Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.83.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Up 2.3 %

Public Service Enterprise Group stock opened at $81.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.68. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a one year low of $63.31 and a one year high of $95.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is 71.19%.

Public Service Enterprise Group Company Profile

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.