PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Price Target Raised to $17.50

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) had its price objective raised by Morgan Stanley from $16.50 to $17.50 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Barclays cut their price target on PG&E from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim cut shares of PG&E from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of PG&E in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group lowered PG&E from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.05.

PG&E Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:PCG opened at $17.20 on Thursday. PG&E has a 1-year low of $14.99 and a 1-year high of $21.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $45.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $16.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.81.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) 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 return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 10.27%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that PG&E will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PG&E

In related news, Director Arno Lockheart Harris acquired 6,389 shares of PG&E stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $15.66 per share, for a total transaction of $100,051.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $232,770.24. The trade was a 75.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 32,521 shares of PG&E stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,006,104.95. This represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PG&E

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of PG&E by 35.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 106,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,151,000 after buying an additional 27,873 shares during the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new stake in PG&E in the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,140,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in PG&E by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,703,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,386,000 after acquiring an additional 314,119 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of PG&E during the 4th quarter worth $253,000. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of PG&E during the fourth quarter worth $6,823,000. 78.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.