Ascent Group LLC Trims Holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Ascent Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 4.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,323 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $2,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PEG. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 155.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 120,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,072,000 after purchasing an additional 73,585 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 66.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 23,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,577,000 after buying an additional 9,388 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 50.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 116.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,809 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 27.2% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. 73.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Down 2.1 %

PEG opened at $92.30 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $89.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.44. 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 company has a market cap of $45.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.68, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.62. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a one year low of $56.85 and a one year high of $95.22.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

Insider Activity at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other news, EVP Tamara Louise Linde sold 9,563 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.54, for a total transaction of $760,641.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,610,217.94. This represents a 14.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.20, for a total value of $124,295.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 147,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,305,762.80. This represents a 0.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,361 shares of company stock valued at $2,356,562. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $98.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Public Service Enterprise Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on 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. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Public Service Enterprise Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.08.

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.