Bank of America Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) Stock Price

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) had its target price decreased by Bank of America from $95.00 to $92.00 in a report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on PEG. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $98.00 price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays lowered Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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, February 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.83.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock opened at $81.68 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $40.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Public Service Enterprise Group has a 12 month low of $63.31 and a 12 month high of $95.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $84.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.06.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last posted its 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. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 19.48%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. 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 3.09%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is presently 71.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.91, for a total value of $117,005.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 144,212 shares in the company, valued at $12,245,040.92. The trade was a 0.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Public Service Enterprise Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PEG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $445,005,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $376,209,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 125.3% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,384,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $285,982,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882,667 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 604.5% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,004,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $169,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,719,614 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 234.1% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,117,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $178,900,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483,662 shares in the last quarter. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.