Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,452,702 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $376,209,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.89% of Public Service Enterprise Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.4% during the 4th 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 boosted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 9,444 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $842,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 4,921 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 35,384 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,990,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. 73.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

Shares of PEG stock traded up $0.90 during trading on Friday, reaching $79.10. The company had a trading volume of 4,391,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,671,094. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $84.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.07. 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 one year low of $63.31 and a one year high of $95.22. The company has a market capitalization of $39.44 billion, a PE ratio of 19.43, 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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.01. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. This is an increase from Public Service Enterprise Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Public Service Enterprise Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on PEG. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on 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. Six research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.83.

Insider Activity at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other Public Service Enterprise Group 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 value of $114,511.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,791 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,536,332.10. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.