John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Reduces Stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. reduced its position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,350 shares during the period. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $3,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Center for Financial Planning Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 4,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 5,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA lifted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 1.3% during the third quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 9,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $842,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New lifted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 5,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 4,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Public Service Enterprise Group Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of PEG stock opened at $81.09 on Friday. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $61.48 and a 12-month high of $95.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $84.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64.

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 the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is presently 71.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total transaction of $114,511.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,536,332.10. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on PEG. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays downgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Public Service Enterprise Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.50.

Public Service Enterprise Group Company 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.