PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PCG shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of PG&E in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on PG&E in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. 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 report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PG&E currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.80.

PG&E Stock Up 1.5 %

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.04. The company has a market capitalization of $56.23 billion, a PE ratio of 16.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.58 billion. PG&E had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 12.51%. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.24 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that PG&E Co. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.19%. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in PG&E by 18.2% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 26,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 4,045 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of PG&E by 8.6% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 271,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,550,000 after purchasing an additional 21,483 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co bought a new stake in PG&E during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $186,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in PG&E by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,311,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,496,000 after buying an additional 42,662 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in PG&E by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 94,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,579,000 after purchasing an additional 7,703 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

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.