Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 4.9%, holding approximately 12.78% of the company, worth about $5.25 billion at the end of the recent quarter.
• Public Service Enterprise Group reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.77, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.07, with revenues increasing by 15.8% year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.63, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.9%, with a payout ratio of 68.85%.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG - Free Report) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 63,761,676 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 2,986,646 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.78% of Public Service Enterprise Group worth $5,247,586,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Chapman Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. REAP Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 105.9% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 315 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 105.9% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 702 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the period. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,387 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.12, for a total value of $115,287.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 218,328 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,147,423.36. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock traded down $0.25 on Monday, reaching $87.43. The stock had a trading volume of 258,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,881,910. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.45. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $74.67 and a 1 year high of $95.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $83.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.16.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 17.78% and a return on equity of 12.08%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Public Service Enterprise Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on PEG. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $101.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Public Service Enterprise Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $90.95.

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.