Commerce Bank Cuts Stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Commerce Bank decreased its position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 43,588 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,291 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $3,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 492,517 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 365,666 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,525,305 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $551,323,000 after acquiring an additional 604,978 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter worth $445,005,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at $376,209,000. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.88, for a total transaction of $114,208.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 221,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,372,009.60. This represents a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.35.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

NYSE:PEG opened at $83.33 on Monday. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $65.36 and a 12-month high of $95.22. The firm has a market cap of $41.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50-day moving average is $81.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.63 dividend. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is 71.19%.

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.