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

Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock traders purchased 3,598 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 62% compared to the average daily volume of 2,226 put options.

Insider Transactions at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, EVP Tamara Louise Linde sold 19,127 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.26, for a total transaction of $1,535,133.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 67,524 shares in the company, valued at $5,419,476.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Tamara Louise Linde sold 19,127 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.26, for a total transaction of $1,535,133.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 67,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,419,476.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.20, for a total transaction of $124,295.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 147,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,305,762.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,010 shares of company stock valued at $3,397,855. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Public Service Enterprise Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 43.2% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,426,170 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $178,763,000 after purchasing an additional 732,443 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 315.2% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,206,101 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $162,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,674,827 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,734,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,809,000 after acquiring an additional 163,333 shares in the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. raised its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 73.9% during the first quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 1,572,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $104,978,000 after acquiring an additional 667,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 14.2% in the first quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 1,557,690 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $104,023,000 after purchasing an additional 193,736 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PEG. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Guggenheim raised shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.62.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Down 1.2 %

Public Service Enterprise Group stock opened at $87.66 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $83.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.00. The company has a market cap of $43.66 billion, a PE ratio of 24.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.46. Public Service Enterprise Group has a 1-year low of $56.85 and a 1-year high of $92.20.

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

Public Service Enterprise Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.48%.

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.