EP Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 6.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,482 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PEG. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the second quarter worth about $33,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $58,000. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Public Service Enterprise Group Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of PEG opened at $86.81 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.33, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.62. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $56.85 and a twelve month high of $95.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.34.

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

Public Service Enterprise Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PEG shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research report on Friday, September 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Scotiabank upped their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.17.

Insider Activity at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 5,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.95, for a total transaction of $518,905.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 25,829 shares in the company, valued at $2,271,660.55. The trade was a 18.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Kim C. Hanemann sold 956 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $86,126.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 70,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,307,290.99. This trade represents a 1.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,798 shares of company stock worth $1,595,921 over the last quarter. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.