Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) Coverage Initiated at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a hold rating and a $85.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on PEG. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Public Service Enterprise Group has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $77.92.

Public Service Enterprise Group Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE PEG opened at $84.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $42.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Public Service Enterprise Group has a 12-month low of $53.71 and a 12-month high of $85.11. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.07.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.01). Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 16.12% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The firm had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is currently 66.48%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $111,190.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 148,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,014,095.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Tamara Louise Linde sold 9,563 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.54, for a total transaction of $760,641.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,610,217.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $111,190.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 148,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,014,095.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,068 shares of company stock worth $2,406,965 over the last quarter. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Public Service Enterprise Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the first quarter worth $36,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 1,866.7% during the first quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

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.