Natixis Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG - Free Report) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 218,849 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,786 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $18,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Center for Financial Planning Inc. grew its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 4,126 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 5,207 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $440,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA increased its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 1.3% during the third quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 9,444 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $842,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 4,921 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 35,384 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,990,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. 73.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PEG traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $83.00. 5,339,712 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,554,307. 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 $64.03 and a 1 year high of $95.22. The company's 50-day moving average is $83.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.02. The company has a market capitalization of $41.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.39, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. 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 business posted $0.54 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. This is an increase from Public Service Enterprise Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Public Service Enterprise Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 71.19%.

Insider Transactions at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,791 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,536,332.10. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $98.00 price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $82.50 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.65.

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.