Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 4,679 Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,679 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $5,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,829,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,051,744,000 after acquiring an additional 49,285 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,401,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $481,825,000 after purchasing an additional 877,345 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter valued at $376,209,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 125.3% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,384,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $285,982,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882,667 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,030,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,012,000 after buying an additional 78,452 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PEG shares. Bank of America lowered their price objective on 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. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $98.00 price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.83.

Insider Transactions at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total value of $114,511.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,536,332.10. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

NYSE:PEG opened at $79.58 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s 50-day moving average is $83.94 and its 200 day moving average is $85.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $63.31 and a 12 month high of $95.22.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.01. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.