98,500 Shares in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) Acquired by Erste Asset Management GmbH

Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 98,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,693,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 22,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,509,000 after buying an additional 2,866 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.7% during the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 38,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,559,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 155.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 120,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,072,000 after purchasing an additional 73,585 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 66.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 23,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,577,000 after purchasing an additional 9,388 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 114,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,639,000 after purchasing an additional 4,505 shares during the last quarter. 73.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, COO Kim C. Hanemann sold 956 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $86,126.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 70,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,307,290.99. The trade was a 1.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $111,190.82. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 148,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,014,095.48. This represents a 0.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,739 shares of company stock worth $2,467,753 in the last quarter. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on PEG. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Scotiabank increased their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $62.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $98.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.08.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock opened at $94.30 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $89.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.61. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $56.85 and a fifty-two week high of $95.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.03. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. The company had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. Public Service Enterprise Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

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.