PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Price Target Raised to $20.00

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of PG&E from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of PG&E from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of PG&E in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a buy rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of PG&E from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $21.55.

PG&E Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PCG opened at $19.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50-day moving average of $18.99 and a 200-day moving average of $17.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.86. PG&E has a fifty-two week low of $14.71 and a fifty-two week high of $20.65.

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

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.20%. PG&E’s payout ratio is 3.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Stephanie N. Williams sold 38,601 shares of PG&E 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 directly owns 19,114 shares in the company, valued at $350,168.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PG&E

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PCG. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of PG&E by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 59,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after buying an additional 1,838 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in PG&E by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 70,077 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after acquiring an additional 11,094 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in PG&E by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,136,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,493,000 after acquiring an additional 182,279 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in PG&E by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 79,017 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,425,000 after acquiring an additional 21,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its stake in PG&E by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 134,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,433,000 after acquiring an additional 10,614 shares during the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.