Meridian Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 33,231 Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 33,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,965,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PEG. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Country Trust Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the second quarter worth about $52,000. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 5,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.95, for a total value of $518,905.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,271,660.55. The trade was a 18.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Tamara Louise Linde sold 9,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.54, for a total value of $760,641.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,961 shares in the company, valued at $4,610,217.94. The trade was a 14.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,739 shares of company stock valued at $2,467,753 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

Public Service Enterprise Group stock opened at $92.39 on Friday. 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 one year low of $56.85 and a one year high of $93.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $88.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.03 billion, a PE ratio of 22.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.61.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PEG shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $62.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $98.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.69.

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.