Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $53.76 Million Stock Position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG - Free Report) by 3.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 602,574 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,344 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Public Service Enterprise Group worth $53,756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PEG. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the third quarter worth approximately $59,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the second quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 325.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 799 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. 73.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 5,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.95, for a total value of $518,905.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,829 shares in the company, valued at $2,271,660.55. This trade represents a 18.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Kim C. Hanemann sold 956 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,798 shares of company stock worth $1,595,921. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

Public Service Enterprise Group stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $85.23. 1,953,615 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,753,444. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $56.85 and a 1-year high of $95.22. The firm has a market cap of $42.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.62. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $88.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.81. 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 quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Public Service Enterprise Group's payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PEG shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note on Friday, September 13th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays decreased their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $98.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.17.

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.