PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) shares hit 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 traded. The stock had previously closed at $21.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PCG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on 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 assumed coverage on shares of PG&E in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America started coverage on PG&E in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.80.

PG&E Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $56.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.03. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.29 and a 200 day moving average of $19.04.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.05. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that PG&E Co. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PG&E

Hedge funds 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 about $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of PG&E by 84.7% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,011 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of PG&E by 77.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in PG&E during the second quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings 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 worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179 shares during the period. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.