PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Price Target Lowered to $24.00 at UBS Group

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) had its price target trimmed by UBS Group from $26.00 to $24.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on PCG. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on PG&E in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of PG&E in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of PG&E from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PG&E currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.80.

PG&E Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE PCG opened at $19.82 on Thursday. PG&E has a 52 week low of $15.94 and a 52 week high of $21.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.01.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $6.58 billion. PG&E had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 11.11%. PG&E’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.24 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that PG&E will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from PG&E’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. PG&E’s payout ratio is 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 shares were 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 owns 1,460,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,168,186.52. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PG&E

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PCG. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in PG&E in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of PG&E by 84.7% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,011 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in PG&E by 77.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in PG&E in the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in PG&E by 243.0% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 4,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 2,863 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

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.