Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) Stake Reduced by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS trimmed its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 944,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,785 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $79,818,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 4,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management increased its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 5,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $440,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA increased its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 9,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $842,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 4,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 35,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,990,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total value of $114,511.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,791 shares in the company, valued at $10,536,332.10. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PEG opened at $83.21 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $63.54 and a 52-week high of $95.22.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. Public Service Enterprise Group’s revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date is 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 71.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays cut shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $82.50 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.27.

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.