Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) Raises Dividend to $0.63 Per Share

Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 11th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of 0.63 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. This is a positive change from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60.

Public Service Enterprise Group has increased its dividend payment by an average of 5.6% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 13 consecutive years. Public Service Enterprise Group has a payout ratio of 55.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Public Service Enterprise Group to earn $4.03 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 59.6%.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

Shares of PEG stock traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $83.44. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 221,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,129,570. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $85.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.61. Public Service Enterprise Group has a 1-year low of $57.40 and a 1-year high of $95.22. The company has a market cap of $41.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.48, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on PEG. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group raised their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays cut Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of 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. Five research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Public Service Enterprise Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other news, COO Kim C. Hanemann sold 956 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $86,126.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 70,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,307,290.99. This trade represents a 1.35 % 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. Also, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.91, for a total transaction of $117,005.98. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 144,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,245,040.92. This represents a 0.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,712 shares of company stock worth $317,644 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Company 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.