PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

Shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 8,820,336 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 38% from the previous session’s volume of 14,296,628 shares.The stock last traded at $19.46 and had previously closed at $19.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PCG. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho raised their target price on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays decreased their price target on PG&E from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on PG&E from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of PG&E in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PG&E has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.80.

PG&E Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $51.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The company’s 50-day moving average is $20.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.30.

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

PG&E Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.025 per share. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from PG&E’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,168,186.52. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PG&E

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. King Street Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of PG&E during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,964,250,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in PG&E by 17.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 101,910,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,779,352,000 after buying an additional 14,998,472 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of PG&E by 5.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 176,839,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,496,115,000 after buying an additional 8,604,396 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of PG&E by 5.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 108,953,808 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,155,093,000 after buying an additional 5,191,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookfield Corp ON boosted its position in shares of PG&E by 45.6% in the third quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 12,643,085 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $249,954,000 after acquiring an additional 3,958,495 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

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.