Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 115,731 Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 29.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 509,946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 115,731 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Public Service Enterprise Group worth $43,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PEG. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 87,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,403,000 after purchasing an additional 18,627 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the third quarter worth $8,244,000. Cullen Investment Group LTD. raised its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 65.3% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 26,867 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,270,000 after buying an additional 10,610 shares during the last quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the third quarter valued at $2,860,000. Finally, Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter worth about $2,565,000. 73.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total value of $114,511.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,536,332.10. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

NYSE PEG opened at $79.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.44 billion, a PE ratio of 19.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.68. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $63.31 and a 52-week high of $95.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.03.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. Public Service Enterprise Group’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.