Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 278,532 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,291 shares during the quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC owned 0.06% of Public Service Enterprise Group worth $23,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PEG. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.88, for a total value of $114,208.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 221,670 shares in the company, valued at $18,372,009.60. This trade represents a 0.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

Public Service Enterprise Group stock opened at $77.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $82.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.99. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $64.03 and a 52 week high of $95.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.52. 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 (NYSE:PEG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.63 dividend. This is a positive change from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays cut shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted 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 report on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Public Service Enterprise Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.65.

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.