Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) Lowered to “Equal Weight” Rating by Barclays

Barclays lowered shares of Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. Barclays currently has $84.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their prior target price of $88.00.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on PEG. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group raised their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Five equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Public Service Enterprise Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.83.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PEG opened at $81.99 on Monday. Public Service Enterprise Group has a 1-year low of $57.24 and a 1-year high of $95.22. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $87.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.85 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.65.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.90 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

Insider Activity at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.91, for a total value of $117,005.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 144,212 shares in the company, valued at $12,245,040.92. This trade represents a 0.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 5,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.95, for a total value of $518,905.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 25,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,271,660.55. This trade represents a 18.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,234 shares of company stock worth $722,037 in the last quarter. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Public Service Enterprise Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 6,773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $572,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the period. Choreo LLC boosted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 71.4% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 41,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,535,000 after acquiring an additional 17,352 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. boosted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 20,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,802,000 after acquiring an additional 5,722 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 203.9% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,541 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,005,000 after acquiring an additional 63,430 shares during the period. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY boosted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 10,850 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $917,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.