Short Interest in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) Grows By 30.8%

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 44,640,000 shares, a growth of 30.8% from the February 28th total of 34,120,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 22,790,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

PG&E Price Performance

PCG stock traded down $0.76 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $16.49. The stock had a trading volume of 10,673,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,989,571. PG&E has a 52-week low of $14.99 and a 52-week high of $21.72. The company has a market cap of $44.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.04. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $16.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31. The firm had revenue of $6.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.29 billion. PG&E had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 10.94%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PG&E will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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PG&E Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. PG&E's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 32,521 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.37, for a total value of $532,368.77. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 183,635 shares in the company, valued at $3,006,104.95. This represents a 15.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arno Lockheart Harris acquired 6,389 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $15.66 per share, with a total value of $100,051.74. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 14,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $232,770.24. This trade represents a 75.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PG&E

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PCG. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of PG&E by 68.3% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,543 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of PG&E by 1,233.6% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,690 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in PG&E by 563.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,916 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,627 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in PG&E by 61.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,956 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506 shares during the period. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its holdings in PG&E by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 4,271 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PCG shares. Guggenheim downgraded shares of PG&E from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of PG&E in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group cut PG&E from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Barclays reduced their price target on PG&E from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on PG&E from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.05.

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.