Hancock Whitney Corp Decreases Stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Hancock Whitney Corp lessened its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 153,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,432 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $11,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the second quarter valued at $33,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 1,866.7% in the 1st quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFS Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 90.9% during the 1st quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

Shares of PEG stock opened at $86.76 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.46. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a one year low of $53.71 and a one year high of $86.83. The company has a market capitalization of $43.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.60.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 16.12%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is currently 66.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Tamara Louise Linde sold 19,127 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.26, for a total transaction of $1,535,133.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,524 shares in the company, valued at $5,419,476.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $111,190.82. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 148,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,014,095.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Tamara Louise Linde sold 19,127 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.26, for a total transaction of $1,535,133.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,419,476.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,068 shares of company stock valued at $2,406,965 over the last three months. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim upgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.92.

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.