Norges Bank Purchases New Stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,266,952 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $445,005,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at $54,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter worth $56,000. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total transaction of $114,511.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,536,332.10. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

NYSE:PEG opened at $81.57 on Friday. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $64.03 and a twelve month high of $95.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market cap of $40.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $83.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.06.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This is an increase from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Scotiabank lifted 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 note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered Public Service Enterprise Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $82.50 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.65.

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.