PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) Short Interest Down 31.0% in September

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 34,990,000 shares, a decrease of 31.0% from the September 15th total of 50,710,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 13,450,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PCG shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of PG&E from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on PG&E from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of PG&E in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.80.

PG&E Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE PCG traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $19.63. 5,997,103 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,215,178. PG&E has a 12 month low of $15.59 and a 12 month high of $20.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.52 billion, a PE ratio of 17.53, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.19.

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

PG&E Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PG&E news, VP Stephanie N. Williams sold 38,601 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.32, for a total value of $707,170.32. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 19,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $350,168.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of PG&E

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PCG. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of PG&E during the second quarter valued at $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings 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 valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,011 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of PG&E by 77.0% in the second 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. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in PG&E during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in PG&E in the second quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

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.