Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) Shares Acquired by Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $1,018,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PEG. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 7.5% in the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 3,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 6.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,318,721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $92,310,000 after purchasing an additional 83,174 shares during the period. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $798,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 1.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,619 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,793,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.58.

Insider Activity at Public Service Enterprise Group

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

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

NYSE PEG 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 stock has a market cap 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. The business has a fifty day moving average of $63.33 and a 200-day moving average of $61.75. 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 released its quarterly 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. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 11.53% and a net margin of 22.81%. 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 firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This is a positive change from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.78%.

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.