Welch & Forbes LLC Has $944,000 Stock Holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Welch & Forbes LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 171.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,170 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,058 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $944,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Center for Financial Planning Inc. grew its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 3.0% during 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 boosted its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 5,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA boosted its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 1.3% during the third quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 9,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $842,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 4,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 35,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,990,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total value of $114,511.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,536,332.10. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PEG shares. Barclays cut shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank lifted 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.83.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Up 1.1 %

Public Service Enterprise Group stock opened at $79.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.44 billion, a PE ratio of 19.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s 50-day moving average is $84.27 and its 200-day moving average is $85.99. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $63.31 and a fifty-two week high of $95.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last released 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. 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 net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is currently 71.19%.

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.