PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $21.55 and last traded at $21.54, with a volume of 4530297 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho upped their price objective on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America began coverage on shares of PG&E in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on PG&E from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. 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 data from MarketBeat, PG&E presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.10.

PG&E Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $20.37 and a 200 day moving average of $19.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.57 billion, a PE ratio of 16.90, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.03.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. PG&E had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 12.51%. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that PG&E Co. will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

PG&E Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.18%. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PG&E

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of PG&E by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 22,458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares during the period. 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 last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of PG&E by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 7,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 769 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd grew its stake in shares of PG&E by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 4,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

PG&E Company Profile

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.