Morgan Stanley Increases PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Price Target to $20.00

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) had its price target upped by Morgan Stanley from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on PG&E from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised PG&E from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, June 10th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of PG&E from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PG&E presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $21.55.

PG&E Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PCG opened at $19.82 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $19.03 and a 200-day moving average of $17.98. The firm has a market cap of $51.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.90. PG&E has a twelve month low of $14.71 and a twelve month high of $20.65.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.01. PG&E had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 11.76%. The company had revenue of $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that PG&E will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.20%. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.57%.

Insider Activity

In other PG&E news, VP Stephanie N. Williams sold 38,601 shares of PG&E stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.32, for a total transaction of $707,170.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,114 shares in the company, valued at $350,168.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PCG. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of PG&E during the second quarter worth $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in PG&E by 84.7% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in PG&E by 77.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027 shares during the period. Vima LLC bought a new position in PG&E during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of PG&E in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. 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.