PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Hits New 52-Week Low - Should You Sell?

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PCG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of PG&E from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on PG&E in a research note on Monday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $21.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of PG&E from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on PG&E in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.64.

PG&E Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $44.32 billion, a PE ratio of 13.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.98. 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 has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.47.

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

PG&E Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.025 per share. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. 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. PG&E's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.81%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,460,222 shares in the company, valued at $30,168,186.52. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PG&E

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in PG&E by 5.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 176,839,426 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,496,115,000 after buying an additional 8,604,396 shares in the last quarter. King Street Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of PG&E during the 2nd quarter worth $1,964,250,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of PG&E by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 108,953,808 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,155,093,000 after acquiring an additional 5,191,463 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of PG&E by 2.9% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 104,846,953 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,072,824,000 after purchasing an additional 2,936,763 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of PG&E by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,837,059 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $981,960,000 after purchasing an additional 536,914 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.56% of the company's stock.

About PG&E

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.