Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $66.38.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PEG. Bank of America increased their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (up previously from $61.00) on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

NYSE PEG traded down $0.13 on Monday, reaching $66.65. 2,972,700 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,925,992. The stock has a market cap of $33.23 billion, a PE ratio of 12.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.58. 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 has a 12 month low of $53.71 and a 12 month high of $67.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.25.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 22.81% and a return on equity of 11.53%. The company's revenue was down 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Public Service Enterprise Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 4,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 31,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,997,409.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,374 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $86,562.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 153,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.18, for a total value of $308,064.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,122 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,997,409.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 6,574 shares of company stock valued at $419,108. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 3,657 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 6.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,318,721 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $92,310,000 after purchasing an additional 83,174 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the first quarter valued at $798,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,619 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,793,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 1st quarter worth about $214,000. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.