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

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

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Chapman Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. 73.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.88, for a total transaction of $114,208.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 221,670 shares in the company, valued at $18,372,009.60. This trade represents a 0.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Up 1.8%

NYSE:PEG traded up $1.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $80.98. The stock had a trading volume of 12,247,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,790,131. The business's 50 day moving average is $80.31 and its 200 day moving average is $83.71. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $71.89 and a fifty-two week high of $95.22. The stock has a market cap of $40.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. Public Service Enterprise Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $89.63.

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.