PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.55.

Several research analysts recently commented on PCG shares. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of PG&E in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on PG&E from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on PG&E in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $21.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on PG&E from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th.

PG&E Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of PCG traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $15.68. The stock had a trading volume of 22,209,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,884,666. PG&E has a 1 year low of $15.52 and a 1 year high of $21.72. 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 stock's 50 day moving average is $19.24 and its 200 day moving average is $19.41. The firm has a market cap of $40.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.98.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.05. PG&E had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 11.11%. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that PG&E will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from PG&E's previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. PG&E's payout ratio is currently 7.81%.

Insider Activity

In other PG&E news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total value of $1,147,766.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,460,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,168,186.52. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PG&E

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PCG. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of PG&E by 68.3% in 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. Commerce Bank increased its holdings in PG&E by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 47,051 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $930,000 after buying an additional 712 shares during the period. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC raised its position in 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 worth $330,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in PG&E by 11.4% during 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. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PG&E by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,545 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $624,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.