Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. Grows Stock Holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 3.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,386 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $1,576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 1,866.7% in the 1st quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFS Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 90.9% in the 1st quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Up 4.0 %

PEG stock opened at $86.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.21 billion, a PE ratio of 24.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.60. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $53.71 and a 52 week high of $86.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $79.70 and a 200 day moving average of $73.61.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.01). Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 16.12%. The company had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PEG. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Guggenheim upgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $62.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Public Service Enterprise Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.92.

Insider Transactions at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $111,190.82. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 148,892 shares in the company, valued at $12,014,095.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $111,190.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 148,892 shares in the company, valued at $12,014,095.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Tamara Louise Linde sold 9,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.54, for a total transaction of $760,641.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,961 shares in the company, valued at $4,610,217.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,068 shares of company stock worth $2,406,965 over the last three months. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.