Short Interest in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) Expands By 30.8%

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) was the target of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 44,640,000 shares, an increase of 30.8% from the February 28th total of 34,120,000 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 22,790,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

PG&E Price Performance

NYSE:PCG traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $17.42. 27,474,659 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,408,770. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $16.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.64. PG&E has a one year low of $14.99 and a one year high of $21.72. The company has a market capitalization of $46.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.04.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31. PG&E had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 10.27%. The company had revenue of $6.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that PG&E will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. PG&E’s payout ratio is 8.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arno Lockheart Harris acquired 6,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.66 per share, for a total transaction of $100,051.74. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 14,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $232,770.24. This trade represents a 75.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 32,521 shares of PG&E 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 183,635 shares in the company, valued at $3,006,104.95. This trade represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PCG. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of PG&E by 68.3% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the period. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of PG&E by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of PG&E by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 7,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in PG&E by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,066 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 772 shares during the period. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PG&E by 2.6% during the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares during the period. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PCG. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on PG&E from $16.50 to $17.50 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim cut PG&E from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group lowered shares of PG&E from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of PG&E from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of PG&E in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PG&E has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.05.

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.