Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP Purchases New Holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 6,317 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $386,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PEG. Operose Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 435.0% in the 3rd quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank acquired a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 39.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. 73.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on PEG. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (up previously from $61.00) on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 4,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.18, for a total value of $308,064.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,122 shares in the company, valued at $1,997,409.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $86,562.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 153,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,684,423. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 4,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.18, for a total transaction of $308,064.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,997,409.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,948 shares of company stock worth $511,814 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:PEG traded up $0.74 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $67.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,338,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,844,853. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $64.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.14. The company has a market capitalization of $33.52 billion, a PE ratio of 12.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.58. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $53.71 and a fifty-two week high of $67.51.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 22.81% and a return on equity of 11.53%. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. Public Service Enterprise Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.78%.

Public Service Enterprise Group Company 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.