Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes Position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 145,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,251,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 73.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 126,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,536,332.10. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Public Service Enterprise Group Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE PEG opened at $81.59 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $40.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.05, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $63.31 and a 12 month high of $95.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $83.74 and a 200-day moving average of $85.98.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 71.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Scotiabank upped their price target 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. Barclays downgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Public Service Enterprise Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.83.

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.