Altrius Capital Management Inc Decreases Stock Holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Altrius Capital Management Inc lowered its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 25.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,006 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PEG. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter worth $780,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 116.7% during the 4th quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,251,000. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 81.7% in the fourth quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co now owns 5,183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $438,000 after buying an additional 2,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 198,817 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,798,000 after acquiring an additional 7,800 shares during the last quarter. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Public Service Enterprise Group Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of PEG stock opened at $80.76 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.99. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $95.22. The company has a market cap of $40.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio is 71.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank upped 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays cut Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total transaction of $114,511.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,791 shares in the company, valued at $10,536,332.10. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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.