Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) Plans $0.60 Quarterly Dividend

Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 16th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of 0.60 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th.

Public Service Enterprise Group has raised its dividend by an average of 5.2% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 13 consecutive years. Public Service Enterprise Group has a dividend payout ratio of 56.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Public Service Enterprise Group to earn $3.97 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.4%.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

PEG stock opened at $65.03 on Thursday. Public Service Enterprise Group has a one year low of $53.71 and a one year high of $67.51. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $63.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $32.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.58.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 22.81% and a return on equity of 11.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 4,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.18, for a total transaction of $308,064.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,122 shares in the company, valued at $1,997,409.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.37, for a total value of $91,192.38. Following 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $308,064.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,122 shares in the company, valued at $1,997,409.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,948 shares of company stock worth $510,300 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Clear Street Markets LLC bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 270.3% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 100.5% during the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 802 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 1st quarter worth about $82,000. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PEG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of 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. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.58.

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.