Barclays Increases Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) Price Target to $71.00

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) had its price target upped by Barclays from $68.00 to $71.00 in a report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an overweight rating and set a $70.00 price target (up from $61.00) on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. TheStreet raised Public Service Enterprise Group from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $67.58.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:PEG opened at $65.10 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $63.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.84. Public Service Enterprise Group has a 52 week low of $53.71 and a 52 week high of $67.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.58.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 11.53% and a net margin of 22.81%. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is 46.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $86,562.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 153,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,684,423. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.18, for a total transaction of $308,064.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,122 shares in the company, valued at $1,997,409.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,374 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $86,562.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 153,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,684,423. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,948 shares of company stock valued at $510,300. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Public Service Enterprise Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Operose Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 435.0% during the third quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Clear Street Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, CNB Bank acquired a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. 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.