Public Service Enterprise Group Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:PEG)

Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders purchased 3,519 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 149% compared to the typical volume of 1,411 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered Public Service Enterprise Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $98.00 target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Public Service Enterprise Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.83.

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Insider Activity at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total value of $114,511.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,791 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 available through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Public Service Enterprise Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Chapman Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 105.9% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 315 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.34% of the company's stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock traded up $0.90 on Friday, hitting $79.10. 4,391,970 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,671,094. Public Service Enterprise Group has a 1 year low of $63.31 and a 1 year high of $95.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.03. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $39.44 billion, a PE ratio of 19.43, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. Public Service Enterprise Group's revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. Public Service Enterprise Group's payout ratio is currently 71.19%.

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.