Achmea Investment Management B.V. Sells 4,189 Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. reduced its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 41.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,189 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PEG. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 32,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,895,000 after acquiring an additional 1,761 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 162.3% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 102,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,165,000 after acquiring an additional 63,565 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,382 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 84.6% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 147,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,136,000 after purchasing an additional 67,487 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 17,282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. 73.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on PEG shares. Barclays downgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.83.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Up 2.3 %

Public Service Enterprise Group stock opened at $81.59 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 stock has a market capitalization of $40.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $63.31 and a 1-year high of $95.22. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $83.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.98.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is currently 71.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,536,332.10. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by 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.