Baird Financial Group Inc. Purchases 5,000 Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG - Free Report) by 17.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 33,553 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $2,835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PEG. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 602,574 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $53,756,000 after purchasing an additional 18,344 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 82,575 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,367,000 after buying an additional 4,072 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 108,025 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,127,000 after purchasing an additional 6,545 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,112 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $515,000 after buying an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.34% of the company's stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PEG traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $79.33. 3,990,107 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,735,432. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $71.89 and a 12 month high of $95.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.48. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $80.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.43. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Public Service Enterprise Group's dividend payout ratio is 68.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEG has been the topic of a number of research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $82.50 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $88.81.

Insider Transactions at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.26, for a total value of $109,220.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 221,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,523,831.18. The trade was a 0.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.