Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 324,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 24,930 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $27,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $445,005,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter worth about $376,209,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 125.3% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,384,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $285,982,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882,667 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 604.5% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,004,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $169,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,719,614 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 234.1% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,117,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $178,900,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483,662 shares during the period. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $10,536,332.10. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Up 1.1 %

Public Service Enterprise Group stock opened at $81.57 on Monday. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $64.03 and a 12 month high of $95.22. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $40.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PEG shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $82.50 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Barclays cut Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Public Service Enterprise Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.65.

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.