Short Interest in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) Rises By 30.8%

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 44,640,000 shares, a growth of 30.8% from the February 28th total of 34,120,000 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 22,790,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim downgraded shares of PG&E from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays decreased their price target on PG&E from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on PG&E from $16.50 to $17.50 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of PG&E in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of PG&E from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.05.

PG&E Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of PG&E stock traded up $0.08 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $17.26. 12,150,975 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,876,402. PG&E has a 52-week low of $14.99 and a 52-week high of $21.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The firm has a market cap of $46.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.64.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The firm had revenue of $6.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.29 billion. PG&E had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 10.27%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that PG&E will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.025 per share. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. PG&E’s payout ratio is presently 8.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 32,521 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.37, for a total transaction of $532,368.77. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 183,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,006,104.95. This represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arno Lockheart Harris acquired 6,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.66 per share, with a total value of $100,051.74. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 14,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $232,770.24. This trade represents a 75.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PG&E

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in PG&E by 68.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of PG&E by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of PG&E by 11.4% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 7,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 769 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of PG&E by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,066 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 772 shares during the period. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in PG&E by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

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.