Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) Lowered to Equal Weight Rating by Barclays

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) was downgraded by stock analysts at Barclays from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $84.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their prior target price of $88.00. Barclays‘s price target indicates a potential downside of 4.59% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. 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.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.83.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

PEG opened at $88.04 on Monday. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $87.80 and a 200 day moving average of $84.99. Public Service Enterprise Group has a 52-week low of $56.91 and a 52-week high of $95.22. The stock has a market cap of $43.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.63, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.65.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.44 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 144,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Kim C. Hanemann sold 956 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $86,126.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 70,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,307,290.99. This trade represents a 1.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,234 shares of company stock valued at $722,037. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Public Service Enterprise Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PEG. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $422,000. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the third quarter worth $8,244,000. Cullen Investment Group LTD. lifted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 65.3% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 26,867 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,270,000 after purchasing an additional 10,610 shares during the period. Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the third quarter valued at $2,860,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 36.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 96,118 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,575,000 after purchasing an additional 25,503 shares during the period. 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.