PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.80.

Several analysts have weighed in on PCG shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on PG&E from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on PG&E in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on PG&E from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd.

Institutional Trading of PG&E

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

PG&E Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of PG&E stock opened at $21.04 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.85. The company has a market cap of $55.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. PG&E has a 1 year low of $15.94 and a 1 year high of $21.51.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PG&E will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.19%. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.13%.

About PG&E

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.