StockNews.com Upgrades Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) to Hold

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on PEG. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $98.00 target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays cut Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $88.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.83.

Public Service Enterprise Group Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE PEG opened at $81.59 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $83.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market cap of $40.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60. Public Service Enterprise Group has a 12 month low of $63.31 and a 12 month high of $95.22.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. Public Service Enterprise Group’s revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total transaction of $114,511.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,536,332.10. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Public Service Enterprise Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Center for Financial Planning Inc. grew its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 4,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 5,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $440,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA grew its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 1.3% during the third quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 9,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $842,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 4,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 35,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,990,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

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.