StockNews.com Downgrades Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) to Sell

StockNews.com lowered shares of Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG – Get Rating) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Wednesday.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 12th. Barclays cut their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 18th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 23rd. Finally, TheStreet lowered Public Service Enterprise Group from a b rating to a c rating in a research report on Monday, June 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $70.36.

Public Service Enterprise Group Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of PEG stock opened at $64.74 on Wednesday. Public Service Enterprise Group has a 52-week low of $58.19 and a 52-week high of $75.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.34.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a negative net margin of 10.59% and a positive return on equity of 13.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.70 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.48 earnings per share 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, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 9th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 8th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is currently -110.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,054 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.75, for a total transaction of $69,300.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 62,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,097,079.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph Izzo sold 9,883 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.10, for a total value of $673,032.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 457,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,158,405.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,054 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction on Friday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.75, for a total transaction of $69,300.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 62,313 shares in the company, valued at $4,097,079.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,357 shares of company stock valued at $2,133,525 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Public Service Enterprise Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 11.3% in the second quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 1,600,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $101,282,000 after purchasing an additional 161,869 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 21.6% in the second quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 42,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 7,555 shares during the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp grew its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 10,831.3% during the second quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 1,733 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 4.7% during the second quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abundance Wealth Counselors grew its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 5.7% during the second quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 10,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 593 shares during the last quarter. 70.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Public Service Enterprise Group Company Profile

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Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company primarily in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. It operates through two segments, PSE&G and PSEG Power. The PSE&G segment transmits electricity; distributes electricity and gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers, as well as invests in solar generation projects, and energy efficiency and related programs; and offers appliance services and repairs.