Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Public Service Enterprise Group Put Options (NYSE:PEG)

Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 3,598 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 62% compared to the typical volume of 2,226 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PEG. Barclays boosted their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $80.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.62.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

PEG stock opened at $87.66 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $83.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.00. Public Service Enterprise Group has a 12-month low of $56.85 and a 12-month high of $92.20. The company has a market capitalization of $43.66 billion, a PE ratio of 24.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 16.12%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.48%.

Insider Transactions at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, EVP Tamara Louise Linde sold 9,564 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.61, for a total transaction of $866,594.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,385,252.17. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, EVP Tamara Louise Linde sold 9,564 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.61, for a total value of $866,594.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 48,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,385,252.17. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.20, for a total transaction of $124,295.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 147,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,305,762.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,010 shares of company stock valued at $3,397,855 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PEG. GenWealth Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $551,000. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 5.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 95,695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,537,000 after buying an additional 4,710 shares during the period. Harrell Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 38.7% in the third quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 29,319 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,616,000 after acquiring an additional 8,182 shares in the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC purchased a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the third quarter worth approximately $207,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 34.5% during the 3rd quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,010 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.