Stephens Inc. AR Lowers Stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Stephens Inc. AR lessened its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 34,109 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 337 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $2,882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PEG. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,882,667 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 19.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,401,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $481,825,000 after purchasing an additional 877,345 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,869,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $255,954,000 after purchasing an additional 663,012 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 376.3% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 810,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,321,000 after purchasing an additional 640,485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 179.5% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 706,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,061,000 after buying an additional 453,985 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock opened at $83.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $85.77 and a 200 day moving average of $85.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.64. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $57.40 and a fifty-two week high of $95.22.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. This is an increase from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, COO Kim C. Hanemann sold 956 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $86,126.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 70,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,307,290.99. The trade was a 1.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,536,332.10. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,712 shares of company stock valued at $317,644 over the last quarter. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on 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. Barclays cut shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.83.

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.