Magnetar Financial LLC Buys Shares of 35,322 Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 35,322 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,984,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 87,621 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,403,000 after purchasing an additional 18,627 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,244,000. Cullen Investment Group LTD. raised its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 65.3% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 26,867 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,270,000 after acquiring an additional 10,610 shares during the last quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,860,000. Finally, Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI acquired a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,565,000. 73.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total transaction of $114,511.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,791 shares in the company, valued at $10,536,332.10. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on PEG. Barclays cut Public Service Enterprise Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Public Service Enterprise Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Public Service Enterprise Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.65.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

NYSE PEG traded down $1.82 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $81.51. The stock had a trading volume of 2,615,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,546,492. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.11. The company has a market cap of $40.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $64.03 and a 52-week high of $95.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. Public Service Enterprise Group's revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Public Service Enterprise Group's payout ratio is presently 71.19%.

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.