Public Service Enterprise Group Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:PEG)

Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Investors acquired 3,598 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 62% compared to the average volume of 2,226 put options.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of PEG stock traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $88.24. The company had a trading volume of 1,164,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,809,177. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.65. Public Service Enterprise Group has a twelve month low of $56.85 and a twelve month high of $92.20. The company has a market capitalization of $43.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.00.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.01). Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 16.12% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The company had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. Public Service Enterprise Group’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim upgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 17th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $62.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $80.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $111,190.82. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 148,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,014,095.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $111,190.82. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 148,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,014,095.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Tamara Louise Linde sold 9,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.54, for a total value of $760,641.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,961 shares in the company, valued at $4,610,217.94. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,010 shares of company stock valued at $3,397,855 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Public Service Enterprise Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $207,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 34.5% during the 3rd quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,010 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares during the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 37,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,350,000 after buying an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $333,000. Finally, HCR Wealth Advisors bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $207,000. 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.