Sage Mountain Advisors LLC Takes Position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 73.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total value of $114,511.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,536,332.10. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PEG. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays cut shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.83.

Public Service Enterprise Group Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of PEG opened at $79.58 on Thursday. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $63.31 and a 52-week high of $95.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $83.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.98. The stock has a market cap of $39.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last posted 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. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. This is an increase from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.19%.

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.