145,000 Shares in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) Acquired by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 145,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,251,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 125.3% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,384,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $285,982,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882,667 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,401,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $481,825,000 after purchasing an additional 877,345 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 376.3% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 810,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,321,000 after buying an additional 640,485 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 103.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 950,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $80,313,000 after buying an additional 483,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 179.5% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 706,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,061,000 after buying an additional 453,985 shares during the last quarter. 73.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

NYSE PEG opened at $81.09 on Friday. 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 has a market capitalization of $40.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.92, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.04. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $61.48 and a 52 week high of $95.22.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.01. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is currently 71.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total transaction of $114,511.80. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.