Argentarii LLC Takes $623,000 Position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Argentarii LLC acquired a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,377 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $623,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PEG. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $376,209,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 125.3% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,384,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $285,982,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882,667 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 19.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,401,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $481,825,000 after acquiring an additional 877,345 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 376.3% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 810,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,321,000 after acquiring an additional 640,485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 103.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 950,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $80,313,000 after acquiring an additional 483,795 shares during the last quarter. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

PEG opened at $79.10 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $84.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.03. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $63.31 and a 12-month high of $95.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $39.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.43, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change 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 Transactions at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.91, for a total transaction of $117,005.98. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 144,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,245,040.92. This trade represents a 0.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Public Service Enterprise Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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, February 26th. Barclays lowered 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 note on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.83.

Public Service Enterprise Group 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.