PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $21.55 and last traded at $21.54, with a volume of 4530297 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PCG shares. UBS Group upped their target price on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of PG&E in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.10.

PG&E Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $20.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.03.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.58 billion. PG&E had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 11.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.24 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PG&E Co. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

PG&E Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of PG&E in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted 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 valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,011 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in PG&E by 77.0% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in PG&E during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,179 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

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.