PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Coverage Initiated at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of PG&E (NYSE:PCG) in a report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $21.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of PG&E from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays decreased their price objective on 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 report on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on PG&E in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.64.

PG&E Trading Up 3.9 %

PCG opened at $16.86 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.98. 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 $21.72. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.47.

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

PG&E Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.025 per share. This is an increase from PG&E’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. PG&E’s payout ratio is presently 7.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PG&E

In other news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,168,186.52. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PG&E

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PCG. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of PG&E by 68.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Commerce Bank raised its stake in PG&E by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 47,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $930,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in PG&E by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 715 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, iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the period. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.