PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $21.55.

A number of analysts have issued reports on PCG shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on PG&E from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised PG&E from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, June 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PG&E news, VP Stephanie N. Williams sold 38,601 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.32, for a total value of $707,170.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 19,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $350,168.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PG&E

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in PG&E by 3.5% in the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of PG&E by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 22,458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of PG&E by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 35,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $639,000 after buying an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd increased its stake in shares of PG&E by 19.5% in the second quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 4,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in PG&E by 14.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PG&E Stock Performance

NYSE:PCG opened at $19.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $50.98 billion, a PE ratio of 17.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.08. PG&E has a 1-year low of $14.87 and a 1-year high of $20.65.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.01. PG&E had a return on equity of 11.76% and a net margin of 10.22%. The company had revenue of $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. PG&E’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that PG&E will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

PG&E Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.21%. PG&E’s payout ratio is currently 3.57%.

About PG&E

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.