PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Reaches New 52-Week Low After Analyst Downgrade

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $24.00 to $23.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. PG&E traded as low as $15.90 and last traded at $15.97, with a volume of 7418999 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $16.29.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $30,168,186.52. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PG&E

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PCG. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of PG&E by 68.3% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in PG&E in the 2nd quarter valued at about $74,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in PG&E by 61.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in PG&E by 77.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in PG&E by 98.5% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 2,154 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

PG&E Stock Down 1.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $41.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.48, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.46.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.24 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that PG&E Co. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from PG&E’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.81%.

About PG&E

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.