Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 20,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,690,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PEG. Center for Financial Planning Inc. grew its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 4,126 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 5,207 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 4,921 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 35,384 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,990,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. 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 Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.26, for a total transaction of $109,220.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 221,093 shares in the company, valued at $17,523,831.18. This trade represents a 0.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on PEG shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $99.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $82.50 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $88.81.

Public Service Enterprise Group Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:PEG traded down $0.36 on Tuesday, hitting $79.41. The stock had a trading volume of 540,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,728,010. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $80.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.03. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $71.89 and a 1-year high of $95.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market cap of $39.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.48.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.43. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Public Service Enterprise Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.85%.

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.