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

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

PEG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of 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. 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. Barclays lowered shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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 research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock 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 assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.83.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock opened at $78.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.00. 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 has a 1-year low of $63.31 and a 1-year high of $95.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.01. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. Public Service Enterprise Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total value of $114,511.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,791 shares in the company, valued at $10,536,332.10. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Public Service Enterprise Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PEG. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $328,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 123,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,059,000 after purchasing an additional 2,128 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 673,031 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,041,000 after purchasing an additional 53,432 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Austin Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.