Brokerages Set PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) Target Price at $20.75

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.75.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PCG. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of PG&E in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays reduced their target price on PG&E from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $18.00 target price on PG&E and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho increased their target price on PG&E from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on PG&E from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th.

PG&E Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:PCG traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $15.60. The company had a trading volume of 47,947,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,888,737. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $41.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.60. PG&E has a 1-year low of $14.99 and a 1-year high of $21.72.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.02). PG&E had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 10.27%. The firm had revenue of $5.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that PG&E will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

PG&E Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.025 per share. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. PG&E's payout ratio is 9.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PG&E news, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 32,519 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.30, for a total transaction of $562,578.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 151,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,614,306.80. This represents a 17.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PG&E

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in PG&E by 90.3% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 71,769 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,448,000 after buying an additional 34,053 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in PG&E by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 15,542 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the period. Longboard Asset Management LP bought a new stake in PG&E in the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA grew its position in PG&E by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA now owns 444,767 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,975,000 after purchasing an additional 66,112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in shares of PG&E by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 473,332 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,552,000 after purchasing an additional 9,716 shares during the period. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.