California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,339,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 29,153 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.47% of Public Service Enterprise Group worth $197,659,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $445,005,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $376,209,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 125.3% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,384,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $285,982,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882,667 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 604.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,004,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $169,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,719,614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 234.1% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,117,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $178,900,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483,662 shares during the period. 73.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. 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. Barclays cut Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Public Service Enterprise Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.65.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock opened at $81.57 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $40.67 billion, a PE ratio of 20.04, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $83.03 and a 200 day moving average of $86.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $64.03 and a 12 month high of $95.22.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. 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. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is 71.19%.

Insider Activity

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.91, for a total transaction of $117,005.98. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 144,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,245,040.92. The trade was a 0.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.