PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of PG&E (NYSE:PCG) in a research note released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $21.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded PG&E from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays lowered their price target on PG&E from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PG&E presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $18.78.

PG&E Stock Performance

Shares of PG&E stock opened at $16.60 on Wednesday. PG&E has a one year low of $14.71 and a one year high of $18.32. The firm has a market cap of $35.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $16.51 and its 200-day moving average is $16.83.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. PG&E had a return on equity of 10.84% and a net margin of 9.24%. The business had revenue of $7.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that PG&E will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. PG&E’s payout ratio is 3.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PG&E

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PCG. Clear Street Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of PG&E in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of PG&E in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new position in shares of PG&E in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of PG&E in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in PG&E by 470.6% in the third quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 2,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 2,014 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

PG&E Company Profile

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.