Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) Shares Bought by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 35.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,747 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,787 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $59,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $66,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 325.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 799 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PEG. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.17.

Insider Activity

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 5,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.95, for a total transaction of $518,905.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 25,829 shares in the company, valued at $2,271,660.55. This trade represents a 18.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.91, for a total transaction of $117,005.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 144,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,245,040.92. This trade represents a 0.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 8,234 shares of company stock worth $722,037. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

Public Service Enterprise Group stock opened at $90.47 on Wednesday. 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 Incorporated has a 12 month low of $56.85 and a 12 month high of $95.22. The company has a market cap of $45.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $87.70 and its 200-day moving average is $84.61.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.03. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The firm had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. Public Service Enterprise Group’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is 58.97%.

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.