Jennison Associates LLC Raises Stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 125.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,384,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,882,667 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned 0.68% of Public Service Enterprise Group worth $285,982,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the third quarter worth approximately $59,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 325.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 799 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the period. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 67.5% in the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 1,119 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays cut Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Public Service Enterprise Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.83.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

Public Service Enterprise Group stock opened at $83.57 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.64 billion, a PE ratio of 20.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $57.24 and a 52 week high of $95.22. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $86.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.03. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The company had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 5,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.95, for a total transaction of $518,905.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,271,660.55. This trade represents a 18.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Kim C. Hanemann sold 956 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $86,126.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 70,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,307,290.99. This trade represents a 1.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,234 shares of company stock worth $722,037. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Public Service Enterprise Group

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.