Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 38,896 Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 12.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 279,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 38,896 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $23,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter valued at $56,000. 73.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on PEG. StockNews.com upgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.65.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Up 0.1 %

PEG opened at $81.48 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a one year low of $64.03 and a one year high of $95.22. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $83.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.09. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS 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 business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. This is an increase 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 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $12,245,040.92. This trade represents a 0.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.