Larson Financial Group LLC Acquires 139 Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PEG opened at $78.58 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $84.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.03. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $63.31 and a twelve month 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 capitalization of $39.17 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,536,332.10. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PEG. 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. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays downgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Public Service Enterprise Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.83.

Public Service Enterprise Group Company 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.