Barclays Cuts PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Price Target to $23.00

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) had its price target lowered by Barclays from $24.00 to $23.00 in a research report report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of PG&E in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of PG&E from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of PG&E in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $21.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.55.

PG&E Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of PG&E stock opened at $16.29 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. PG&E has a 1 year low of $15.94 and a 1 year high of $21.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $19.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.46. The stock has a market cap of $42.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.98.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.025 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from PG&E’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PG&E

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in PG&E by 68.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank raised its position in PG&E by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 47,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $930,000 after buying an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of PG&E by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake 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 during the period. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of PG&E by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the period. 78.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PG&E Company Profile

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.