PCG Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

PCG Asset Management LLC 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 5,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $506,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,000. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of 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 lowered Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Public Service Enterprise Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.50.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

PEG opened at $81.09 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $40.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $84.78 and a 200-day moving average of $86.04. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $61.48 and a 52-week high of $95.22.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) 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 in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The company 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 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. 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 71.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total value of $114,511.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,536,332.10. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

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.