Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Lowers Position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,149,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 38,964 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $97,130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PEG. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $54,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total value of $114,511.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,536,332.10. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on PEG shares. Barclays cut shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.83.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PEG opened at $82.16 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $40.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $63.54 and a 12 month high of $95.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.04.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. This is an increase from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is presently 71.19%.

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.