KBC Group NV Increases Stock Holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG - Free Report) by 21.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 124,966 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 22,231 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $10,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PEG. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,829,634 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,051,744,000 after acquiring an additional 49,285 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,401,024 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $481,825,000 after purchasing an additional 877,345 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,951,631 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $263,315,000 after purchasing an additional 19,650 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,869,113 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $255,954,000 after purchasing an additional 663,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 5.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,637,882 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $235,194,000 after buying an additional 147,903 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related 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 transaction of $518,905.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,271,660.55. This trade represents a 18.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.91, for a total transaction of $117,005.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 144,212 shares in the company, valued at $12,245,040.92. The trade was a 0.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,234 shares of company stock valued at $722,037 over the last 90 days. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on PEG shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $88.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.83.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

Shares of PEG stock traded up $1.80 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $83.50. 1,592,939 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,324,304. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $87.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.04. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $57.24 and a fifty-two week high of $95.22. The firm has a market cap of $41.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.65. 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 released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.03. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.87%. Public Service Enterprise Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.97%.

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.