Paradigm Financial Partners LLC Acquires 2,020 Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Paradigm Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,689 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,020 shares during the period. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PEG. Operose Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 435.0% during the third quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. CNB Bank bought a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on PEG. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price target (up previously from $61.00) on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,374 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $10,111,270.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 4,800 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.18, for a total transaction of $308,064.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,122 shares in the company, valued at $1,997,409.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,948 shares of company stock worth $511,814. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

PEG opened at $67.82 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.81 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $64.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.32. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $53.71 and a 52-week high of $68.39.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 22.81% and a return on equity of 11.53%. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. 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.