BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) Stock

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $85.00 to $86.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price points to a potential upside of 2.11% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays downgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $88.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.17.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

Shares of PEG traded up $0.99 on Wednesday, reaching $84.22. 197,402 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,257,501. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Public Service Enterprise Group has a 52-week low of $59.67 and a 52-week high of $95.22. The stock has a market cap of $41.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total transaction of $114,511.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,536,332.10. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Public Service Enterprise Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Chapman Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Company Profile

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.