Bailard Inc. Makes New Investment in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Bailard Inc. bought a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 17,254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,055,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Operose Advisors LLC raised its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 435.0% during the third quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank acquired a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Public Service Enterprise Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.15.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

Shares of PEG stock traded down $0.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $67.89. 580,129 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,812,659. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $64.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.22. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $53.71 and a twelve month high of $68.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.58.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 11.53% and a net margin of 22.81%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s revenue was down 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.78%.

Insider Activity at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 4,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.18, for a total value of $308,064.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,997,409.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 4,800 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.18, for a total value of $308,064.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,997,409.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,374 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.37, for a total value of $91,192.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,347 shares in the company, valued at $10,111,270.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,948 shares of company stock valued at $511,814 over the last ninety days. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Public Service Enterprise Group 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.