Verition Fund Management LLC Acquires 453,985 Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 179.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 706,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 453,985 shares during the quarter. Public Service Enterprise Group makes up 0.3% of Verition Fund Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $63,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PEG. Old Port Advisors boosted its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 23,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,099,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 9,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $827,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA increased its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 1.3% during the third quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 9,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $842,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Cigna Investments Inc. New lifted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 5,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lifted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 29,357 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,619,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. 73.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PEG shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Public Service Enterprise Group in a research report on Friday, September 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.69.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:PEG opened at $94.20 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $89.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $56.85 and a 12-month high of $95.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.61.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.03. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The firm had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is 58.97%.

Insider Activity at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $111,190.82. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 148,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,014,095.48. This represents a 0.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Kim C. Hanemann sold 956 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $86,126.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 70,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,307,290.99. The trade was a 1.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,739 shares of company stock worth $2,467,753 over the last 90 days. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.