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

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on PEG. Barclays dropped their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $99.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group upgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $86.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Public Service Enterprise Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $89.86.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of PEG stock traded up $1.56 on Friday, hitting $84.31. The stock had a trading volume of 3,009,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,774,131. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $80.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.08. The company has a market cap of $42.07 billion, a PE ratio of 23.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.48. Public Service Enterprise Group has a one year low of $73.83 and a one year high of $95.22.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.43. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 11.80% and a net margin of 17.01%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,387 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.12, for a total value of $115,287.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 218,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,147,423.36. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Public Service Enterprise Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 4.9% during the first 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,195,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,027,725,000 after purchasing an additional 365,666 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.3% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,294,016 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $600,317,000 after purchasing an additional 162,261 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,525,305 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $551,323,000 after purchasing an additional 604,978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,807,124 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $490,644,000 after purchasing an additional 335,135 shares during the last quarter. 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.