Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 45,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,671 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $2,754,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,673,935 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,509,864,000 after acquiring an additional 7,103,657 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 33,020,997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,879,225,000 after acquiring an additional 726,613 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,253,655 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $638,876,000 after acquiring an additional 221,305 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,049,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $401,173,000 after acquiring an additional 87,974 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,156,996 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $350,395,000 after acquiring an additional 170,586 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE PEG opened at $65.74 on Monday. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $53.71 and a 52-week high of $67.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $63.84 and a 200-day moving average of $62.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 22.81% and a return on equity of 11.53%. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $86,562.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 153,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,684,423. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $86,562.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 153,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,684,423. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 4,800 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,997,409.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,748 shares of company stock valued at $498,658 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PEG shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Guggenheim downgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 price objective (up from $61.00) on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.58.

About Public Service Enterprise Group

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.