Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) Shares Purchased by Smartleaf Asset Management LLC

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 41.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 944 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of 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 worth $285,982,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882,667 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 19.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,401,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $481,825,000 after buying an additional 877,345 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 376.3% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 810,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,321,000 after buying an additional 640,485 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 103.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 950,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $80,313,000 after acquiring an additional 483,795 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 179.5% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 706,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,061,000 after acquiring an additional 453,985 shares in the last quarter. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total transaction of $114,511.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,536,332.10. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays lowered Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Public Service Enterprise Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.83.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock opened at $81.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 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. The business has a 50-day moving average of $84.54 and a 200 day moving average of $86.06. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $63.31 and a 12 month high of $95.22.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.01. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. This is a positive change from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.19%.

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.