Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $67.15.

PEG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price 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. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price target (up from $61.00) on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,684,423. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,684,423. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 4,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.18, for a total transaction of $308,064.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,997,409.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,948 shares of company stock valued at $511,814. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,673,935 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,509,864,000 after acquiring an additional 7,103,657 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 33,020,997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,879,225,000 after buying an additional 726,613 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,049,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $401,173,000 after buying an additional 87,974 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,156,996 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $350,395,000 after buying an additional 170,586 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,612,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $319,407,000 after buying an additional 221,071 shares during the period. 73.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Public Service Enterprise Group Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE PEG opened at $68.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.58. Public Service Enterprise Group has a 52-week low of $53.71 and a 52-week high of $68.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $64.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 22.81% and a return on equity of 11.53%. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.78%.

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.