Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) Hits New 1-Year High at $72.21

Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $72.21 and last traded at $72.06, with a volume of 235436 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.34.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on PEG. Guggenheim cut shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price target (up previously from $61.00) on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.15.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company’s 50 day moving average is $66.20 and its 200-day moving average is $62.87. The company has a market capitalization of $36.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.56.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 17.65%. The firm’s revenue was down 26.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.39 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 4,800 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 31,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,997,409.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.37, for a total transaction of $91,192.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 152,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,111,270.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 4,800 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,997,409.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,322 shares of company stock worth $607,376. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Public Service Enterprise Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PEG. Operose Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 435.0% during the 3rd quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. CNB Bank purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.