Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Takes Position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Country Trust Bank purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, EVP Tamara Louise Linde sold 9,564 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.61, for a total value of $866,594.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,385,252.17. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $111,190.82. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 148,892 shares in the company, valued at $12,014,095.48. This represents a 0.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,783 shares of company stock valued at $2,381,626. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on PEG shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of 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. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $62.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $98.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Public Service Enterprise Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.69.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

NYSE:PEG opened at $87.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $56.85 and a fifty-two week high of $92.20. The stock has a market cap of $43.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.69.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.44 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. Analysts expect that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.