PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) Increases Dividend to $0.03 Per Share

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) declared a quarterly dividend on Saturday, November 2nd,NASDAQ Dividends reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of 0.025 per share by the utilities provider on Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from PG&E’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01.

PG&E has a dividend payout ratio of 6.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect PG&E to earn $1.49 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.10 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 6.7%.

PG&E Price Performance

PG&E stock opened at $20.14 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.73, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.01. PG&E has a one year low of $15.94 and a one year high of $21.72. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $20.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.37.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.05. PG&E had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 11.11%. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.24 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PG&E will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at PG&E

In related news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of PG&E stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total value of $1,147,766.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,460,222 shares in the company, valued at $30,168,186.52. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of PG&E from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho upped their target price on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America initiated coverage on PG&E in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target 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 on the stock. Finally, UBS Group cut 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 note on Thursday, December 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PG&E presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.80.

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.