Avanza Fonder AB Invests $4.74 Million in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 56,055 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,736,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $66,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 325.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 799 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. 73.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

Shares of PEG traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $88.20. 2,714,176 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,757,952. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $56.85 and a 12 month high of $95.22. The stock has a market cap of $43.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.65. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $87.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.36.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.03. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Public Service Enterprise Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.97%.

Insider Activity at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 5,900 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.95, for a total transaction of $518,905.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,829 shares in the company, valued at $2,271,660.55. The trade was a 18.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Kim C. Hanemann sold 956 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $86,126.04. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,234 shares of company stock worth $722,037 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEG has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank raised their target price 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.17.

Public Service Enterprise Group Company 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.