Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 73.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,495 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,700 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $825,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 123.8% in the 4th quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 77,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,756,000 after purchasing an additional 43,025 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 415,315 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,397,000 after acquiring an additional 17,838 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 10,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $666,000 after acquiring an additional 2,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $427,000. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Down 1.0 %

PEG stock opened at $65.20 on Tuesday. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $53.71 and a fifty-two week high of $67.51. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $63.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $32.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.58.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 11.53% and a net margin of 22.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. This is an increase from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 4,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.18, for a total value of $308,064.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,997,409.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.18, for a total transaction of $308,064.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,997,409.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,374 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.37, for a total value of $91,192.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 152,347 shares in the company, valued at $10,111,270.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,948 shares of company stock worth $510,300 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PEG shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. TheStreet raised Public Service Enterprise Group from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.58.

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.