PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Hits New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $24.00 to $25.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. PG&E traded as high as $20.65 and last traded at $20.64, with a volume of 705765 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.38.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on PCG. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on PG&E in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of PG&E in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on PG&E from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of PG&E

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PG&E during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in PG&E by 84.7% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of PG&E by 77.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in PG&E during the second quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in shares of PG&E by 48.8% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 3,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

PG&E Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $19.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.01.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.01. PG&E had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 11.76%. The company had revenue of $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. PG&E’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that PG&E Co. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio is 3.57%.

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.