Alliancebernstein L.P. Cuts Stock Position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 546,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,331 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $46,147,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PEG. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $372,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 107,082 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,553,000 after buying an additional 11,864 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 13,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,176,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 27.8% during the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,671 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $866,000 after acquiring an additional 2,106 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 22.9% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 484,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,198,000 after acquiring an additional 90,230 shares in the last quarter. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Down 4.6 %

PEG opened at $77.83 on Friday. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a one year low of $64.03 and a one year high of $95.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.02.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on PEG shares. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Barclays cut shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Public Service Enterprise Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.88, for a total transaction of $114,208.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 221,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,372,009.60. This represents a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.