Van ECK Associates Corp Raises Stock Position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 103.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 950,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 483,795 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $80,313,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEG. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 125.3% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,384,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $285,982,000 after buying an additional 1,882,667 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 19.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,401,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $481,825,000 after purchasing an additional 877,345 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 30.1% in the third 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 during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 376.3% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 810,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,321,000 after purchasing an additional 640,485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 179.5% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 706,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,061,000 after purchasing an additional 453,985 shares during the last quarter. 73.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Kim C. Hanemann sold 956 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $86,126.04. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 70,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,307,290.99. This trade represents a 1.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total transaction of $114,511.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,536,332.10. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,712 shares of company stock valued at $317,644 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

NYSE:PEG opened at $83.93 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $41.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.64. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $58.45 and a fifty-two week high of $95.22. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $85.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.65.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. This is an increase from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on PEG shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of 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. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.83.

Public Service Enterprise Group 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.