Wealthfront Advisers LLC Lowers Holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC trimmed its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 88.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,385 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 25,583 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Center for Financial Planning Inc. raised its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 4,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 5,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $440,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA raised its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 9,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $842,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 4,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 35,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,990,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. 73.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 value of $117,005.98. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Barclays downgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim reiterated 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, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.83.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

Shares of PEG stock opened at $82.23 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $63.31 and a 52 week high of $95.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.03.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.01. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 71.19%.

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.