PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.00.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PCG. Bank of America started coverage on shares of PG&E in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upped their target price on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Mizuho increased their price target on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on PG&E from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday.

PG&E Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of PCG stock opened at $19.71 on Wednesday. PG&E has a 1 year low of $15.94 and a 1 year high of $21.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.55 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $20.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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. As a group, research analysts expect that PG&E will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

PG&E Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from PG&E’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PG&E

In other PG&E news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,460,222 shares in the company, valued at $30,168,186.52. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PG&E

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in PG&E in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of PG&E by 84.7% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,011 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of PG&E by 77.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,027 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in PG&E in the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in PG&E by 243.0% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 4,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 2,863 shares in the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.