Barclays Downgrades Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) to Equal Weight

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) was downgraded by investment analysts at Barclays from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $84.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their previous price target of $88.00. Barclays‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 2.81% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.83.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

Shares of PEG stock opened at $81.71 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $87.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.03. Public Service Enterprise Group has a fifty-two week low of $57.24 and a fifty-two week high of $95.22.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.91, for a total value of $117,005.98. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Kim C. Hanemann sold 956 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $86,126.04. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 70,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,307,290.99. This trade represents a 1.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,234 shares of company stock worth $722,037 in the last ninety days. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Public Service Enterprise Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PEG. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 87,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,403,000 after purchasing an additional 18,627 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $422,000. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $8,244,000. Cullen Investment Group LTD. boosted its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 65.3% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 26,867 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,270,000 after acquiring an additional 10,610 shares during the period. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,860,000. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.