Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. Sells 557 Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. lessened its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 13.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 557 shares during the period. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $123,000. Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 155.3% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 64,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,948,000 after acquiring an additional 39,273 shares in the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. bought a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 79.9% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 895,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,757,000 after acquiring an additional 397,606 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank cut their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. TheStreet upgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 price target (up previously from $61.00) on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered Public Service Enterprise Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Public Service Enterprise Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.18, for a total transaction of $308,064.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,997,409.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.18, for a total transaction of $308,064.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,997,409.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,374 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.37, for a total value of $91,192.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,347 shares in the company, valued at $10,111,270.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,948 shares of company stock worth $511,814 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

Shares of PEG stock traded up $0.74 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $67.23. 3,338,990 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,844,315. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $64.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.14. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $53.71 and a twelve month high of $67.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.52 billion, a PE ratio of 12.96, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.58.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.45 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 11.53% and a net margin of 22.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is 46.78%.

Public Service Enterprise Group Company Profile

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.