Cohen & Steers Inc. Sells 340,529 Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Cohen & Steers Inc. lessened its position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,540,692 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 340,529 shares during the quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc.’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $214,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 87,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,403,000 after buying an additional 18,627 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. increased its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 65.3% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 26,867 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,270,000 after acquiring an additional 10,610 shares during the period. Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the third quarter valued at $2,860,000. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI acquired a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter worth $2,565,000. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 108,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,127,000 after purchasing an additional 6,545 shares during the last quarter. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Up 1.1 %

PEG stock opened at $82.14 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.68. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $64.03 and a fifty-two week high of $95.22. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.71. The company has a market cap of $40.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.52.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. Public Service Enterprise Group’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.63 dividend. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.88, for a total transaction of $114,208.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 221,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,372,009.60. This trade represents a 0.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $98.00 target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.35.

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.