Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,243,156 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 177,328 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.65% of Public Service Enterprise Group worth $274,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $54,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PEG shares. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group upped their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $98.00 price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised 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 report on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 126,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,536,332.10. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

Shares of PEG opened at $82.92 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.68. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $59.67 and a 1 year high of $95.22. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.03.

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. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The firm 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. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is 71.19%.

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.