Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 14,961 Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 22.5% in the first quarter, owning 51,546 shares after selling 14,961 shares.
• CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,387 shares at an average price of $83.12, reducing his ownership by 0.63% to a total of 218,328 shares.
• Analyst ratings for Public Service Enterprise Group include a mix of one sell, five holds, and six buys, with a consensus target price of $90.50.

Bank of Nova Scotia decreased its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG - Free Report) by 22.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,546 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 14,961 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $4,242,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Chapman Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 105.9% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 315 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 105.9% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 702 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,387 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.12, for a total value of $115,287.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 218,328 shares in the company, valued at $18,147,423.36. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on PEG. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $101.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Public Service Enterprise Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $90.50.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

NYSE PEG opened at $88.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.08, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $74.67 and a fifty-two week high of $95.22.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.07. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 17.01% and a return on equity of 11.80%. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. The business's revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. Public Service Enterprise Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.85%.

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.

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