Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

StockNews.com lowered shares of Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

A number of other analysts have also commented on PEG. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $98.00 price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays dropped their price objective on 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $82.50 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.58.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PEG opened at $77.61 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $82.07 and its 200-day moving average is $85.87. Public Service Enterprise Group has a twelve month low of $64.03 and a twelve month high of $95.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.52.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. This is a positive change from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio is 71.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Public Service Enterprise Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PEG. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Chapman Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 105.9% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 315 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Company Profile

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.