Stephens Inc. AR Lowers Position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Stephens Inc. AR decreased its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,109 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 337 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $2,882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PEG. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter worth $56,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 3rd quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter worth $57,000. Institutional investors own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on PEG. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of 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. Barclays downgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Kim C. Hanemann sold 956 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $86,126.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 70,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,307,290.99. This trade represents a 1.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total value of $114,511.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,536,332.10. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,712 shares of company stock valued at $317,644 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PEG opened at $83.75 on Wednesday. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $57.40 and a 52 week high of $95.22. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $85.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $41.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.64.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. 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 is presently 58.97%.

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.