PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Sets New 52-Week Low on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $24.00 to $23.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. PG&E traded as low as $15.90 and last traded at $15.97, with a volume of 7418999 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $16.29.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on PCG. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on PG&E in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of PG&E in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho lifted their target price on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on PG&E from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PG&E news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total value of $1,147,766.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,460,222 shares in the company, valued at $30,168,186.52. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of PG&E by 68.3% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in PG&E by 61.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in PG&E by 77.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PG&E by 98.5% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 2,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of PG&E by 32.9% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 4,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195 shares during the period. 78.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PG&E Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $41.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.43. 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 (NYSE:PCG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.58 billion. PG&E had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 12.51%. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.24 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that PG&E Co. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

PG&E Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.025 dividend. This is an increase from PG&E’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.81%.

PG&E Company Profile

PG&E Corp. operates as a holding company, which engages in generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity and natural gas to customers. It specializes in energy, utility, power, gas, electricity, solar and sustainability. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Oakland, CA.