Analysts Set PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) Price Target at $22.80

Shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.80.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho increased their price target on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on PG&E in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Barclays dropped their price target on PG&E from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of PG&E from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th.

PG&E Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE:PCG opened at $19.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $50.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.98. PG&E has a 12-month low of $15.94 and a 12-month high of $21.72. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last released its earnings results 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 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 for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. Analysts predict that PG&E will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

PG&E Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. This is an increase from PG&E’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. PG&E’s payout ratio is 7.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PG&E

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PCG. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in PG&E by 3.1% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 22,458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank grew its stake in PG&E by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 47,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $930,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of PG&E by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 7,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alta Advisers Ltd raised its stake in shares of PG&E by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 4,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. 78.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PG&E Company Profile

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.