StockNews.com Upgrades Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) to Hold

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

PEG has been the topic of a number of other reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $82.50 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.35.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

Shares of PEG opened at $83.49 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $81.92 and a 200-day moving average of $85.66. Public Service Enterprise Group has a 52 week low of $64.03 and a 52 week high of $95.22. The firm has a market cap of $41.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.52. 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 (NYSE:PEG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (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 net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 221,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,372,009.60. This trade represents a 0.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Public Service Enterprise Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PEG. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Chapman Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 105.9% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 315 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. 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.