Barclays Lowers Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) Price Target to $83.00

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) had its target price trimmed by Barclays from $84.00 to $83.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

PEG has been the subject of several other reports. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $82.50 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.58.

Public Service Enterprise Group Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock opened at $77.61 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $82.07 and a 200-day moving average of $85.87. Public Service Enterprise Group has a 52-week low of $64.03 and a 52-week high of $95.22. The stock has a market cap of $38.69 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.52.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.19%.

Insider Transactions at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.88, for a total transaction of $114,208.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 221,670 shares in the company, valued at $18,372,009.60. This trade represents a 0.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Public Service Enterprise Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Center for Financial Planning Inc. grew its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 4,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 5,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $440,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Centre Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC now owns 3,933 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 4,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 35,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,990,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.