Barclays Raises Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) Price Target to $71.00

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) had its price objective upped by Barclays from $68.00 to $71.00 in a report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

PEG has been the topic of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $70.00 target price (up from $61.00) on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $67.58.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

PEG opened at $65.20 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $63.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.58. Public Service Enterprise Group has a 52 week low of $53.71 and a 52 week high of $67.51.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 11.53% and a net margin of 22.81%. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This is an increase from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is currently 46.78%.

Insider Transactions at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $86,562.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 153,721 shares in the company, valued at $9,684,423. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $86,562.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 153,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,684,423. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 4,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.18, for a total value of $308,064.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,997,409.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,948 shares of company stock worth $510,300 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Public Service Enterprise Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Clear Street Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Operose Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 435.0% in the third quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.