PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Given New $24.00 Price Target at UBS Group

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) had its target price reduced by UBS Group from $26.00 to $24.00 in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

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

PG&E Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of PG&E stock opened at $19.43 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $50.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.18, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $20.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.28. PG&E has a 1 year low of $15.94 and a 1 year high of $21.72.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.58 billion. PG&E had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 12.51%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.24 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that PG&E will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.025 per share. This is an increase from PG&E’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. PG&E’s payout ratio is presently 7.81%.

Insider Activity

In other PG&E news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of PG&E stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total transaction of $1,147,766.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,460,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,168,186.52. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PG&E by 3.1% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 22,458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the period. Commerce Bank boosted its holdings in shares of PG&E by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 47,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $930,000 after acquiring an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of PG&E by 11.4% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 7,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd raised its holdings in shares of PG&E by 19.5% during the second quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 4,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in PG&E by 2.6% during the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the period. 78.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.