Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) Earns “Buy” Rating from Guggenheim

Guggenheim reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $98.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays downgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.50.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Down 0.4 %

PEG stock opened at $82.92 on Wednesday. Public Service Enterprise Group has a fifty-two week low of $59.67 and a fifty-two week high of $95.22. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $84.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $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 company has a market capitalization of $41.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.01. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. This is an increase from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.91, for a total transaction of $117,005.98. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 144,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,245,040.92. This trade represents a 0.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Public Service Enterprise Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Chapman Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.