Van ECK Associates Corp Raises Stock Position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 283,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,312 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.06% of Public Service Enterprise Group worth $17,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at $210,000. Choreo LLC raised its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 262.1% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 14,666 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $897,000 after acquiring an additional 10,616 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 7,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the period. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter worth about $334,000. Finally, Convergence Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.37, for a total transaction of $91,192.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,111,270.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,374 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.37, for a total transaction of $91,192.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,347 shares in the company, valued at $10,111,270.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 4,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.18, for a total value of $308,064.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,997,409.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,948 shares of company stock valued at $511,814 over the last quarter. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:PEG opened at $69.81 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $53.71 and a twelve month high of $70.46. The company has a market cap of $34.81 billion, a PE ratio of 19.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50 day moving average is $65.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.48.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 11.19%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s quarterly revenue was down 26.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is 66.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEG has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.15.

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.