Great Lakes Advisors LLC Sells 15,902 Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 496,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 15,902 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned 0.10% of Public Service Enterprise Group worth $41,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on PEG. Bank of America dropped their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays lowered Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank lifted 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 note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Public Service Enterprise Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Six 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.91, for a total transaction of $117,005.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 144,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,245,040.92. This represents a 0.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of PEG stock opened at $78.58 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.03. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $63.31 and a 1 year high of $95.22. The company has a market cap of $39.17 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.19%.

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.