Axecap Investments LLC Makes New Investment in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Axecap Investments LLC acquired a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 34,632 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,850,000. Public Service Enterprise Group comprises 2.4% of Axecap Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ninepoint Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP now owns 14,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,830 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $875,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 103.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 950,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $80,313,000 after acquiring an additional 483,795 shares during the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 171.6% in the 4th quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 11,170 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $944,000 after acquiring an additional 7,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 worth $5,134,882,000 after acquiring an additional 492,517 shares during the last quarter. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE:PEG opened at $80.77 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $80.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.17. The company has a market capitalization of $40.30 billion, a PE ratio of 19.84, a P/E/G 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 Incorporated has a 1-year low of $71.89 and a 1-year high of $95.22.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.85%.

Insider Transactions at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.26, for a total transaction of $109,220.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 221,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,523,831.18. This trade represents a 0.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Evercore ISI lowered 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.63.

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.