Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) Price Target to $95.00

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) had its price target cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $100.00 to $95.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Barclays cut Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.50.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

Shares of PEG stock opened at $82.92 on Wednesday. Public Service Enterprise Group has a 52 week low of $59.67 and a 52 week high of $95.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $84.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.03. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $41.31 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. Public Service Enterprise Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.67 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is 71.19%.

Insider Activity at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total value of $114,511.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,536,332.10. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Public Service Enterprise Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Chapman Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 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.