PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.80.

PCG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on PG&E in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Barclays cut their target price on PG&E from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of PG&E from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of PG&E in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total value of $1,147,766.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,460,222 shares in the company, valued at $30,168,186.52. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PG&E

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PCG. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in PG&E in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of PG&E by 68.3% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of PG&E during the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in PG&E in the 2nd quarter valued at about $74,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in PG&E by 77.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PG&E Stock Performance

PG&E stock opened at $20.40 on Friday. PG&E has a fifty-two week low of $15.94 and a fifty-two week high of $21.72. The company has a market capitalization of $53.35 billion, a PE ratio of 15.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $20.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.05. PG&E had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 11.11%. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PG&E will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

PG&E Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from PG&E’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.81%.

PG&E Company Profile

PG&E Corporation, through its subsidiary, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, engages in the sale and delivery of electricity and natural gas to customers in northern and central California, the United States. It generates electricity using nuclear, hydroelectric, fossil fuel-fired, fuel cell, and photovoltaic sources.