Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG)

Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders bought 4,144 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 116% compared to the typical volume of 1,918 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEG has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note on Friday, September 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Guggenheim raised 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 note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.46.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock opened at $87.73 on Wednesday. Public Service Enterprise Group has a 1 year low of $53.71 and a 1 year high of $88.86. The firm has a market cap of $43.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.30, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $80.23 and a 200 day moving average of $73.99. 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 (NYSE:PEG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $111,190.82. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 148,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,014,095.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, EVP Tamara Louise Linde sold 9,563 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.54, for a total transaction of $760,641.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,610,217.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $111,190.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 148,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,014,095.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,068 shares of company stock worth $2,406,965 over the last ninety days. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Public Service Enterprise Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 1,866.7% during the first quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the period. Finally, PFS Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 90.9% in the first quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 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.