Brokerages Set PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) PT at $22.18

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.80.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of PG&E in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of PG&E from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of PG&E in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PG&E news, VP Stephanie N. Williams sold 38,601 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.32, for a total value of $707,170.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $350,168.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PG&E

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PCG. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of PG&E by 3.5% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in PG&E by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 22,458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd boosted its position in PG&E by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 4,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in PG&E by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of PG&E by 8.0% during the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 12,363 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $207,000 after acquiring an additional 917 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

PG&E Stock Performance

Shares of PCG opened at $20.68 on Tuesday. PG&E has a 1 year low of $15.59 and a 1 year high of $20.81. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.45. The company has a market capitalization of $54.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.90.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.01. PG&E had a return on equity of 11.76% and a net margin of 10.22%. The company had revenue of $5.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PG&E will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.42%.

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.