Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG - Free Report) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,298,715 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 339,167 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.46% of Public Service Enterprise Group worth $194,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 6,033 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 630 shares during the period. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at $96,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 46,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,893,000 after purchasing an additional 4,455 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 47,521 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,053,000 after purchasing an additional 1,583 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 234.1% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,117,411 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $178,900,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483,662 shares during the last quarter. 73.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays lowered Public Service Enterprise Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $82.50 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.65.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Down 4.6 %

Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock traded down $3.73 on Friday, reaching $77.83. 4,819,758 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,689,468. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $82.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.03. The company has a market cap of $38.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.52. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $64.03 and a 1-year high of $95.22. 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 (NYSE:PEG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Public Service Enterprise Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 71.19%.

Insider Activity

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.88, for a total value of $114,208.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 221,670 shares in the company, valued at $18,372,009.60. This represents a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.