Short Interest in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) Declines By 15.3%

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 30,000,000 shares, a decline of 15.3% from the April 30th total of 35,430,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 16,630,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

PG&E Trading Down 1.1%

PCG stock traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $15.89. 28,390,737 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,735,075. PG&E has a 52-week low of $14.99 and a 52-week high of $21.72. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $16.99 and a 200-day moving average of $17.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.63.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $5.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.23 billion. PG&E had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PG&E will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. PG&E's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PG&E news, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 32,519 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.30, for a total transaction of $562,578.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 151,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,614,306.80. The trade was a 17.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in PG&E by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,974,070 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,837,000 after purchasing an additional 148,860 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new position in PG&E in the fourth quarter worth approximately $466,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in PG&E by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 82,112 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in PG&E by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 4,248,558 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $85,736,000 after purchasing an additional 228,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in PG&E by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 101,240 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,043,000 after acquiring an additional 12,847 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on PCG. Barclays cut their price target 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 price objective on PG&E and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on PG&E from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on PG&E from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of PG&E in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.75.

PG&E Company Profile

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.