Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Grows Stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,084 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Operose Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 435.0% in the 3rd quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. CNB Bank purchased a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.15.

Insider Transactions at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $86,562.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 153,721 shares in the company, valued at $9,684,423. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 4,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.18, for a total transaction of $308,064.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,997,409.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $86,562.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 153,721 shares in the company, valued at $9,684,423. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,322 shares of company stock worth $607,376. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

Public Service Enterprise Group stock traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $72.56. 3,634,828 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,904,908. The stock has a market cap of $36.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $66.00 and its 200-day moving average is $62.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $53.71 and a 12 month high of $72.93.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.01). Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 11.10%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. Public Service Enterprise Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is 66.48%.

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.