Wall Street Zen Downgrades Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) to Sell

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $101.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $99.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.86.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

PEG opened at $84.31 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.07 billion, a PE ratio of 23.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $80.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.08. Public Service Enterprise Group has a 52-week low of $73.83 and a 52-week high of $95.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.43. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 11.80% and a net margin of 17.01%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,387 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.12, for a total value of $115,287.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 218,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,147,423.36. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Public Service Enterprise Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,986,646 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,195,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,027,725,000 after acquiring an additional 365,666 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,294,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $600,317,000 after acquiring an additional 162,261 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,525,305 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $551,323,000 after acquiring an additional 604,978 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,807,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $490,644,000 after acquiring an additional 335,135 shares during the period. 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.