Sound Shore Management Inc. CT Sells 285,026 Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Sound Shore Management Inc. CT lowered its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 34.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 546,972 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 285,026 shares during the quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $46,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PEG. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Institutional investors own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total value of $114,511.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,536,332.10. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on PEG shares. Barclays downgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Public Service Enterprise Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.65.

Public Service Enterprise Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Public Service Enterprise Group stock opened at $83.00 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $83.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.68. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a one year low of $64.03 and a one year high of $95.22. The stock has a market cap of $41.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.01. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.19%.

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.