Financial Counselors Inc. Sells 654 Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Financial Counselors Inc. lessened its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,888 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 654 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $413,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on PEG shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Seven equities 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.

Public Service Enterprise Group Trading Up 1.1 %

Public Service Enterprise Group stock opened at $81.57 on Friday. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $83.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.06. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $64.03 and a 1 year high of $95.22. The stock has a market cap of $40.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,536,332.10. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Company 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.