Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) CEO Ralph A. Larossa Sells 1,378 Shares

Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.88, for a total transaction of $114,208.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 221,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,372,009.60. This trade represents a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

Shares of PEG opened at $83.85 on Thursday. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $64.03 and a 52 week high of $95.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market cap of $41.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $82.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.10.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.01. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Public Service Enterprise Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,195,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,027,725,000 after buying an additional 365,666 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,525,305 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $551,323,000 after buying an additional 604,978 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,807,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $490,644,000 after acquiring an additional 335,135 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $445,005,000. Institutional investors own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays lowered 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. StockNews.com raised Public Service Enterprise Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $82.50 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Public Service Enterprise Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.65.

About Public Service Enterprise Group

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.