PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.80.

PCG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on PG&E in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of PG&E in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted 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 note on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on PG&E from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th.

Institutional Trading of PG&E

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PCG. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in PG&E by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in PG&E by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 22,458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 712 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of PG&E by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 7,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alta Advisers Ltd increased 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 period. 78.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PG&E Stock Performance

Shares of PCG opened at $21.35 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. PG&E has a 12 month low of $15.94 and a 12 month high of $21.51. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.03.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.05. PG&E had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 12.51%. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.24 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that PG&E will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. PG&E’s payout ratio is 3.13%.

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.