Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $89.63.

A number of brokerages recently commented on PEG. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $82.50 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.88, for a total transaction of $114,208.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 221,670 shares in the company, valued at $18,372,009.60. This trade represents a 0.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Public Service Enterprise Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,761,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,247,586,000 after buying an additional 2,986,646 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,195,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,027,725,000 after buying an additional 365,666 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,294,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $600,317,000 after buying an additional 162,261 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,525,305 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $551,323,000 after buying an additional 604,978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,807,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $490,644,000 after buying an additional 335,135 shares in the last quarter. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

Shares of PEG stock opened at $80.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $40.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $80.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.67. Public Service Enterprise Group has a fifty-two week low of $71.89 and a fifty-two week high of $95.22.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is presently 68.85%.

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.