Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on PEG. Bank of America cut 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. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays lowered Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Scotiabank boosted 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Public Service Enterprise Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.83.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

Shares of PEG opened at $81.68 on Wednesday. Public Service Enterprise Group has a one year low of $63.31 and a one year high of $95.22. The company has a 50-day moving average of $84.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $40.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business 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. Public Service Enterprise Group’s revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This is an increase from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.19%.

Insider Transactions at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total transaction of $114,511.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,536,332.10. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 6,211 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $525,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter worth about $77,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,807,000. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 105.9% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter worth about $1,690,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

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.