If you’re staring at the price of PSE&G stock (trading under the ticker PEG on the NYSE) and wondering why it isn't moving like a Silicon Valley tech darling, you’re looking at it all wrong. It’s a utility. Utilities are boring. But in a 2026 market that’s felt like a caffeine-induced fever dream, boring is suddenly very, very sexy.
Right now, as of mid-January 2026, PEG is hovering around the $79.42 mark. It’s been a bit of a bumpy ride lately. Just a few months ago, in late 2025, we saw this thing creeping up toward $91, flirting with all-time highs. Then the market did what the market does. It pulled back. Interest rates stayed stickier than anyone liked, and the "safe haven" trade got a little crowded.
But honestly? Looking at the price of PSE&G stock in a vacuum is like judging a marathon runner by their 100-meter sprint time. You've gotta look at the pipes, the wires, and—increasingly—the massive data centers sucking up power in New Jersey.
Why the $79 Level Actually Matters
When you see the price sitting under $80, it’s easy to feel like you missed the boat. You didn’t. The 52-week range for Public Service Enterprise Group has been roughly **$74.67 to $91.26**. We are sitting closer to the bottom of that range than the top.
Analysts from firms like UBS and Ladenburg Thalmann have been recalibrating their targets for 2026. While some, like Paul Fremont, recently upgraded the stock to a "Buy" with a target near $87.50, others are looking even higher—up to $98 or $100. Why? Because of a little thing called "load growth."
New Jersey is becoming a massive hub for data centers. These buildings eat electricity for breakfast. PSEG reported that inquiries for new service connections reached over 9,400 megawatts by mid-2025. To put that in perspective: that’s a massive jump from where things stood just a year prior. When companies want that much power, the utility company has to build the infrastructure to provide it. And in the utility world, building infrastructure equals "rate base growth," which eventually equals a higher stock price.
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The Dividend Secret: More Than Just a Check
People buy PEG for the dividend. Period.
The company has a 118-year history of paying out. That is older than your grandfather. In 2025, they bumped the payout by 5% to $0.63 per share quarterly.
- Current Yield: Approximately 3.17%.
- The "Safety" Factor: Unlike a tech startup, PSEG is a regulated monopoly in its core territory.
- Growth Outlook: Management is targeting 5% to 7% compound annual growth in earnings through 2029.
If you’re holding PEG, you aren't looking for a 50% gain in a week. You’re looking for that $2.52 per year in passive income while the company modernizes its grid. It’s the "sleep well at night" stock.
What's Dragging the Price Down?
It isn't all sunshine and power lines. There are two big things weighing on the price of PSE&G stock right now.
First, there's the debt. Utilities are capital-intensive. PSEG has a debt-to-equity ratio of about 1.27. In a high-interest-rate environment, servicing that debt gets expensive. If the Fed doesn't cut rates as fast as the market hopes, utility stocks like PEG usually take a hit.
Second, there is the nuclear factor. PSEG owns a massive carbon-free nuclear fleet (think Hope Creek and Salem). While nuclear is "green" and earns credits, it's also expensive to maintain. They just finished a major refueling outage at Hope Creek to extend its cycle. Those outages cost money and take capacity offline temporarily.
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The Nuclear Wildcard
The Production Tax Credit (PTC) from the Inflation Reduction Act has been a godsend for PSEG’s nuclear business. It basically floors the price they get for their nuclear power. This makes their cash flow way more predictable than it used to be. Analysts are starting to price this "predictability" into the stock, which is why we haven't seen the price collapse even during market volatility.
Real Talk: Is it Overvalued?
Some folks point to the P/E ratio, which is sitting around 19x. For a utility, that's not exactly "cheap." Traditionally, you’d want to see a utility in the 15x to 16x range.
But we aren't in a traditional market.
We are in an era where "clean energy" and "reliable baseload" are at a premium. PSEG is one of the few large-cap utilities that is almost entirely "de-risked" from the volatile merchant power business. They sold off their fossil fuel plants years ago. Now they are essentially a regulated utility with a massive, subsidized nuclear tailwind.
What to Watch in the Coming Months
If you're watching the price of PSE&G stock, keep an eye on these specific triggers:
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- PJM Capacity Auctions: The prices PSEG gets for promising to provide power in the future are skyrocketing. In the last auction, prices hit $329 per megawatt-day, a massive jump from previous years. This is pure profit falling to the bottom line.
- New Jersey Rate Cases: The company is constantly in talks with New Jersey regulators. If they get approval for their multi-billion dollar "Energy Strong" or infrastructure advancement programs, the stock usually ticks up.
- Data Center Contracts: Any news of a "behind-the-meter" deal—where a data center plugs directly into one of PSEG's nuclear plants—could send the stock into the $90s instantly.
Actionable Insights for Investors
Honestly, if you're looking for a lottery ticket, go buy a crypto meme coin. But if you want a cornerstone for a portfolio that survives a recession, PEG is a classic choice.
Here is what you should actually do:
- Check the "Support" Levels: Historically, the stock has found a lot of buyers whenever it dips toward the $75 mark. If it hits that again, it's often seen as a high-value entry point.
- Don't Ignore the Beta: PEG has a Beta of around 0.53 to 0.60. This means it only moves about half as much as the overall market. When the S&P 500 drops 2%, PEG might only drop 1%.
- Watch the 10-Year Treasury: Utility stocks trade inversely to bond yields. If the 10-Year Treasury yield spikes, the price of PSE&G stock will likely soften. If yields fall, PEG will likely rally.
The days of PSEG being just a local "electric company" are over. It's now a regional infrastructure play on the AI and data center boom. It’s boring, until you realize how much money is being poured into the grid.
To stay ahead of the next price move, keep a close watch on the quarterly earnings calls—specifically the "Non-GAAP Operating Earnings" guidance. Management narrowed their 2025 guidance to the upper half (around $4.00 to $4.06 per share), which suggests the company is firing on all cylinders despite the macro noise.
Next Steps: Review your portfolio's exposure to the utility sector and compare PEG's 3.17% yield against other "Dividend Aristocrats." If you're looking for an entry, set a price alert for the $77.50 level to catch potential pullbacks.