PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 650,295 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,317 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of Public Service Enterprise Group worth $54,943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.91, for a total value of $117,005.98. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 144,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,245,040.92. The trade was a 0.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

PEG opened at $79.10 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $39.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.43, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s 50 day moving average is $84.27 and its 200 day moving average is $86.07. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. This is an increase from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is currently 71.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PEG shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays cut shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $98.00 price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Public Service Enterprise Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.83.

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.