Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,149,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 38,964 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.23% of Public Service Enterprise Group worth $97,130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,829,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,051,744,000 after buying an additional 49,285 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,401,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $481,825,000 after buying an additional 877,345 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $376,209,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $285,982,000 after buying an additional 1,882,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,030,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,012,000 after buying an additional 78,452 shares in the last quarter. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,536,332.10. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Public Service Enterprise Group Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE PEG opened at $82.16 on Wednesday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $83.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.04. The company has a market capitalization of $40.96 billion, a price-to-earnings 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.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.01. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The firm 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 firm posted $0.54 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This is an increase from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on PEG. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.83.

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.