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

Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $88.83.

Several research analysts have recently commented on PEG shares. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $88.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

NYSE:PEG traded down $0.85 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $83.82. The stock had a trading volume of 4,699,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,204,013. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.68. Public Service Enterprise Group has a one year low of $59.29 and a one year high of $95.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $84.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.63 dividend. This is a positive change from Public Service Enterprise Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. Public Service Enterprise Group's payout ratio is 58.97%.

Insider Activity

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total value of $114,511.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,791 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,536,332.10. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Public Service Enterprise Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,775,030 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,134,882,000 after buying an additional 492,517 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,525,305 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $551,323,000 after acquiring an additional 604,978 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $490,644,000 after purchasing an additional 335,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 19.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,401,024 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $481,825,000 after purchasing an additional 877,345 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.34% of the company's stock.

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.