Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 5.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 161,795 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,957 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $14,433,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the third quarter worth $8,693,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter worth $372,000. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 179.5% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 706,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,061,000 after acquiring an additional 453,985 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 5.4% during the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 195,564 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,436,000 after purchasing an additional 9,989 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the third quarter worth about $528,000. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:PEG opened at $90.00 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $89.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $56.85 and a 1 year high of $95.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.84 billion, a PE ratio of 22.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Public Service Enterprise Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, COO Kim C. Hanemann sold 956 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $86,126.04. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 70,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,307,290.99. This represents a 1.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Tamara Louise Linde sold 9,563 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.54, for a total value of $760,641.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,610,217.94. This trade represents a 14.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,361 shares of company stock valued at $2,356,562 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America raised their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $62.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Public Service Enterprise Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.08.

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.