PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $20.94 and last traded at $20.85, with a volume of 1299244 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.60.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PCG shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of PG&E from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on PG&E in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lifted 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. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of PG&E in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.80.

PG&E Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $55.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.66, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $20.06 and a 200 day moving average of $18.79.

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

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. PG&E’s payout ratio is 3.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PG&E news, VP Stephanie N. Williams sold 38,601 shares of the business’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 sale, the vice president now owns 19,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $350,168.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PG&E

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PCG. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in PG&E during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in PG&E by 84.7% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in PG&E by 77.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in PG&E in the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in PG&E by 48.8% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 3,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

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.