KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires Shares of 296,509 Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 296,509 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $25,052,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned approximately 0.06% of Public Service Enterprise Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Center for Financial Planning Inc. lifted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 4,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 5,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $440,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA lifted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 9,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $842,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 4,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 35,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,990,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. 73.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Down 0.4 %

PEG stock opened at $83.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $64.03 and a 1 year high of $95.22. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.06. The firm has a market cap of $41.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.39, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. Public Service Enterprise Group’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is presently 71.19%.

Insider Transactions at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total value of $114,511.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,536,332.10. The trade was a 1.08 % 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. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.65.

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.