Rench Wealth Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Rench Wealth Management Inc. reduced its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,318 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 170 shares during the period. Rench Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $4,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 315.2% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,206,101 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $162,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,674,827 shares during the period. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the second quarter worth about $71,298,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 19.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,401,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $481,825,000 after purchasing an additional 877,345 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 43.2% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,426,170 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $178,763,000 after purchasing an additional 732,443 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 79.5% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,502,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $134,006,000 after purchasing an additional 665,105 shares during the period. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Kim C. Hanemann sold 956 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $86,126.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 70,011 shares in the company, valued at $6,307,290.99. This represents a 1.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Tamara Louise Linde sold 9,564 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.61, for a total value of $866,594.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 48,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,385,252.17. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,361 shares of company stock valued at $2,356,562. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

Shares of PEG opened at $91.80 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $89.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.75. 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 company has a market capitalization of $45.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.62. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $56.85 and a 52-week high of $95.22.

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

Public Service Enterprise Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on PEG shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note on Friday, September 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $62.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $98.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Public Service Enterprise Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.