PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Hits New 12-Month Low - What's Next?

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $15.94 and last traded at $16.12, with a volume of 3695419 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $16.22.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on PCG. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on PG&E in a research note on Monday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $21.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho raised their price objective on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of PG&E from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of PG&E from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PG&E presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.64.

PG&E Stock Performance

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 firm has a market capitalization of $42.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $20.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.49.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion for 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%. The company's revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PG&E Co. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

PG&E Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.025 per share. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from PG&E's previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. PG&E's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PG&E news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total value of $1,147,766.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,460,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,168,186.52. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of PG&E

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PCG. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in PG&E in the fourth quarter worth approximately $167,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of PG&E by 136.7% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 30,535 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $616,000 after acquiring an additional 17,636 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of PG&E by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 32,876 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $663,000 after acquiring an additional 1,423 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PG&E during the fourth quarter worth $950,000. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PG&E by 35.3% during the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 18,080 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 4,720 shares during the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.