United Asset Strategies Inc. Acquires 127 Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 124,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,558,000 after acquiring an additional 22,231 shares during the last quarter. Apexium Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 71,977 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,083,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,294,000 after buying an additional 1,409 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter worth $421,000. Finally, Harrell Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 30,494 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,576,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

Shares of PEG stock opened at $81.99 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $87.80 and a 200-day moving average of $84.99. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a one year low of $57.24 and a one year high of $95.22. The company has a market cap of $40.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.65.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.03. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The firm had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.91, for a total transaction of $117,005.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 144,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,245,040.92. This represents a 0.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Kim C. Hanemann sold 956 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $86,126.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 70,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,307,290.99. This represents a 1.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,234 shares of company stock worth $722,037 in the last quarter. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays downgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.83.

Public Service Enterprise Group 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.