Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) Receives $89.17 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $88.83.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PEG shares. Barclays lowered shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 5,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.95, for a total value of $518,905.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,271,660.55. This trade represents a 18.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.91, for a total transaction of $117,005.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 144,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,245,040.92. This represents a 0.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,234 shares of company stock valued at $722,037. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Public Service Enterprise Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 125.3% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,384,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $285,982,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882,667 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,401,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $481,825,000 after purchasing an additional 877,345 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 30.1% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,869,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $255,954,000 after buying an additional 663,012 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 376.3% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 810,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,321,000 after acquiring an additional 640,485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 179.5% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 706,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,061,000 after acquiring an additional 453,985 shares during the period. 73.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

Public Service Enterprise Group stock opened at $81.71 on Friday. Public Service Enterprise Group has a 52 week low of $57.24 and a 52 week high of $95.22. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $87.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.03. The stock has a market cap of $40.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.97%.

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.