GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Takes Position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 70,586 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,964,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,775,030 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,134,882,000 after buying an additional 492,517 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,195,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,027,725,000 after acquiring an additional 365,666 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,525,305 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $551,323,000 after acquiring an additional 604,978 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,807,124 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $490,644,000 after purchasing an additional 335,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $445,005,000. 73.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.88, for a total value of $114,208.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 221,670 shares in the company, valued at $18,372,009.60. This represents a 0.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on PEG. Barclays dropped their price target 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $99.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America reduced their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Public Service Enterprise Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.63.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

Shares of PEG traded up $1.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $81.14. 1,199,299 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,746,376. The stock has a market cap of $40.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.48. 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 50 day moving average of $80.31 and a 200-day moving average of $83.71. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.15 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. The business's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. Public Service Enterprise Group's payout ratio is currently 68.85%.

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.