Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $89.35.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank lifted their price target on 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. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $98.00 target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

Public Service Enterprise Group stock opened at $81.21 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $40.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.95, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $81.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.76. Public Service Enterprise Group has a 52-week low of $64.03 and a 52-week high of $95.22.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.01. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is presently 71.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.88, for a total value of $114,208.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 221,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,372,009.60. This represents a 0.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Public Service Enterprise Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEG. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 87,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,403,000 after buying an additional 18,627 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. grew its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 65.3% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 26,867 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,270,000 after acquiring an additional 10,610 shares during the last quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 3rd quarter worth $2,860,000. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,565,000. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 108,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,127,000 after acquiring an additional 6,545 shares during the last quarter. 73.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.