Haverford Trust Co Trims Stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Haverford Trust Co lessened its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 15.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,363 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $1,069,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter worth $54,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter worth about $56,000. 73.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total transaction of $114,511.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

Shares of PEG stock opened at $83.26 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $83.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.11. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $64.03 and a 12 month high of $95.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is 71.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PEG. Bank of America lowered their price target on 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Scotiabank upped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.65.

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.