PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) Receives $21.55 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $21.55.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on PG&E in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of PG&E from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of PG&E from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Stephanie N. Williams sold 38,601 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.32, for a total value of $707,170.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $350,168.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PG&E

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of PG&E by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 59,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 1,838 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in PG&E by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,136,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,493,000 after buying an additional 182,279 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of PG&E by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 79,017 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,425,000 after buying an additional 21,165 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of PG&E by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 134,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,433,000 after buying an additional 10,614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank grew its stake in shares of PG&E by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 46,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,363 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

PG&E Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of PCG stock opened at $19.84 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.01. PG&E has a twelve month low of $14.71 and a twelve month high of $20.65. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.03.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.86 billion. PG&E had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 11.76%. PG&E’s revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PG&E will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. PG&E’s payout ratio is currently 3.57%.

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.