PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Hits New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) shares hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $15.94 and last traded at $16.12, with a volume of 3695419 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on PCG. UBS Group decreased their price target on PG&E from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on PG&E in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of PG&E in a research note on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $21.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Mizuho lifted 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, November 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.64.

PG&E Stock Performance

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 fifty day simple moving average of $20.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.49. The stock has a market cap of $42.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.77, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.98.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.58 billion. PG&E had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 12.51%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that PG&E Co. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from PG&E’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. PG&E’s payout ratio is 7.81%.

Insider Transactions at PG&E

In other PG&E news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of PG&E stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total value 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. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PG&E

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PG&E during the second quarter valued at $179,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in PG&E during the 2nd quarter valued at about $451,000. Choreo LLC bought a new position in PG&E in the 2nd quarter worth about $336,000. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of PG&E by 1.7% in the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,977,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,521,000 after purchasing an additional 32,989 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PG&E by 1.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,193,627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,841,000 after buying an additional 13,196 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.