PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) reached a new 52-week high on Monday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $24.00 to $25.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. PG&E traded as high as $20.65 and last traded at $20.64, with a volume of 705765 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.38.

PCG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on PG&E from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of PG&E in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of PG&E in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PG&E has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at PG&E

In other 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 transaction of $707,170.32. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $350,168.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in PG&E in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of PG&E by 84.7% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of PG&E during the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in PG&E by 48.8% during the 2nd 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. 78.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PG&E Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $59.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last released 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. PG&E had a return on equity of 11.76% and a net margin of 10.22%. The business had revenue of $5.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.23 EPS. PG&E’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that PG&E Co. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

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