Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) Price Target Raised to $86.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) had its target price lifted by BMO Capital Markets from $85.00 to $86.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on PEG. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their price target 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. Barclays downgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Five 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.50.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PEG opened at $82.92 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.31 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64. Public Service Enterprise Group has a twelve month low of $59.67 and a twelve month high of $95.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.03.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. This is an increase 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 3.04%. 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 Activity at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.91, for a total transaction of $117,005.98. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 144,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,245,040.92. This trade represents a 0.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PEG. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Chapman Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 73.34% of the stock is 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.