Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on PEG. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of 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. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $98.00 price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $82.50 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $89.35.

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Public Service Enterprise Group Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:PEG traded up $0.91 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $82.14. 2,495,281 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,725,896. Public Service Enterprise Group has a fifty-two week low of $64.03 and a fifty-two week high of $95.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.71.

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

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This is an increase from Public Service Enterprise Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Public Service Enterprise Group's payout ratio is currently 71.19%.

Insider Transactions at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.88, for a total transaction of $114,208.64. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Public Service Enterprise Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $445,005,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter worth $376,209,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 125.3% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,384,803 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $285,982,000 after buying an additional 1,882,667 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 604.5% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,004,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $169,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,719,614 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 234.1% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,117,411 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $178,900,000 after acquiring an additional 1,483,662 shares in the last quarter. 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.