Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lessened its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 276,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 23,075 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 0.06% of Public Service Enterprise Group worth $24,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the second quarter valued at $422,000. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the third quarter worth about $8,244,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 36.1% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 96,118 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,575,000 after purchasing an additional 25,503 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,965,000. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,860,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.20, for a total transaction of $124,295.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 147,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,305,762.80. This trade represents a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 5,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.95, for a total value of $518,905.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,271,660.55. The trade was a 18.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,798 shares of company stock valued at $1,595,921 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on PEG shares. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Friday, September 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.17.

Public Service Enterprise Group Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:PEG opened at $86.81 on Monday. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $56.85 and a 1 year high of $95.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $89.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.33, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.62.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

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.