Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) Price Target Raised to $68.00

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) had its price objective raised by Barclays from $65.00 to $68.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

PEG has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 21st. TheStreet raised shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $61.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, December 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $64.55.

Public Service Enterprise Group Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE PEG traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $64.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,529,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,870,379. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.93. The stock has a market cap of $31.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.57. Public Service Enterprise Group has a 52 week low of $53.71 and a 52 week high of $65.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is presently 46.78%.

Insider Transactions at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other news, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 4,800 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,997,409.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 4,800 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,997,409.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,374 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 153,721 shares in the company, valued at $9,684,423. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,574 shares of company stock worth $418,428 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Public Service Enterprise Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEG. Union Savings Bank bought a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Operose Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 435.0% during 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 during the period. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 72.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.