Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) Holdings Lifted by Reaves W H & Co. Inc.

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 828,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 62,274 shares during the quarter. Public Service Enterprise Group makes up 1.9% of Reaves W H & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Reaves W H & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $70,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Center for Financial Planning Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 4,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $440,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $842,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 4,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 35,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,990,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. 73.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $98.00 target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note 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 note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.83.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

NYSE:PEG opened at $81.79 on Tuesday. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $61.99 and a 1 year high of $95.22. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.01. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. Public Service Enterprise Group’s revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio is 71.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total transaction of $114,511.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,536,332.10. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

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.