Empowered Funds LLC Buys 597 Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 7.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,362 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 597 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 315.2% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,206,101 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $162,590,000 after buying an additional 1,674,827 shares in the last quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the second quarter worth about $71,298,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 43.2% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,426,170 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $178,763,000 after purchasing an additional 732,443 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 381.7% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 800,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $59,023,000 after purchasing an additional 634,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,132,000. 73.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

Public Service Enterprise Group stock opened at $92.40 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $88.38 and its 200 day moving average is $80.67. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a one year low of $56.85 and a one year high of $93.00. The firm has a market cap of $46.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.61. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.03. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. The company had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.97%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Tamara Louise Linde sold 9,564 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.61, for a total value of $866,594.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,385,252.17. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $111,190.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 148,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,014,095.48. This represents a 0.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,739 shares of company stock worth $2,467,753 over the last quarter. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PEG shares. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $62.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Friday, September 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Public Service Enterprise Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.69.

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.