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

Shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $21.95.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PCG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of PG&E in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of PG&E from $16.50 to $17.50 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of PG&E from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Guggenheim lowered shares of PG&E from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on PG&E from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday.

PG&E Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of PG&E stock opened at $17.08 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $16.38 and a 200 day moving average of $18.40. The company has a market capitalization of $45.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.70. PG&E has a fifty-two week low of $14.99 and a fifty-two week high of $21.72.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The firm had revenue of $6.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.29 billion. PG&E had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 10.94%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PG&E will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.025 per share. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PG&E news, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 32,521 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.37, for a total value of $532,368.77. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 183,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,006,104.95. This represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arno Lockheart Harris purchased 6,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $15.66 per share, with a total value of $100,051.74. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 14,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,770.24. The trade was a 75.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of PG&E by 68.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in PG&E by 1,233.6% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 1,690 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its holdings in PG&E by 563.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,627 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of PG&E by 61.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its stake in PG&E by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 4,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

About PG&E

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.