Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $88.08.

Several research firms have recently commented on PEG. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $62.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note on Friday, September 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.20, for a total transaction of $124,295.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 147,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,305,762.80. The trade was a 0.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Tamara Louise Linde sold 9,563 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.54, for a total value of $760,641.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,610,217.94. The trade was a 14.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 27,361 shares of company stock worth $2,356,562. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Public Service Enterprise Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PEG. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,829,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,051,744,000 after buying an additional 49,285 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 19.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,401,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $481,825,000 after purchasing an additional 877,345 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,951,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $263,315,000 after purchasing an additional 19,650 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,869,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $255,954,000 after purchasing an additional 663,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,637,882 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $235,194,000 after buying an additional 147,903 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

NYSE:PEG opened at $90.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Public Service Enterprise Group has a 52 week low of $56.85 and a 52 week high of $95.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $89.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.82.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.03. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. The company had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. Public Service Enterprise Group’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

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.