Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Buys 14,600 Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 271,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,600 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned about 0.05% of Public Service Enterprise Group worth $22,924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter valued at $54,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.91, for a total value of $117,005.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 144,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,245,040.92. This trade represents a 0.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays downgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.83.

Public Service Enterprise Group Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of PEG stock opened at $81.59 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $83.74 and a 200 day moving average of $86.02. 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 $63.31 and a 1-year high of $95.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.01. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.19%.

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.