Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) Holdings Lifted by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 765 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $545,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the third quarter worth about $48,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other news, COO Kim C. Hanemann sold 956 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $86,126.04. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 70,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,307,290.99. The trade was a 1.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.91, for a total value of $117,005.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 144,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,245,040.92. This represents a 0.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,712 shares of company stock valued at $317,644 in the last three months. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PEG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays downgraded 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 report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. 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. According to MarketBeat, Public Service Enterprise Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.83.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

Shares of PEG opened at $83.82 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $85.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.66. The stock has a market cap of $41.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a one year low of $57.40 and a one year high of $95.22.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is presently 58.97%.

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.