Here's How Much Investing $100 In PG&E Stock Back In 2010 Would Be Worth Today

Investors who owned stocks in the 2010s generally experienced some big gains. In fact, the SPDR S&P 500 SPY total return for the decade was 250.5%. But there’s no question some big-name stocks did much better than others along the way.

PG&E’s’ Difficult Decade

One of the market laggards of the decade was California utility giant PG&E Corporation PCG.

PG&E investors started the 2000s with a 2001 bankruptcy due a California energy crisis. Investors hoping to get through the 2010s without another bankruptcy didn’t quite get what they had hoped for.

In May 2018, California state officials ruled PG&E violated state law and the company’s equipment was responsible for three 2017 wildfires and up to $12 billion in damages. From that point forward, PG&E was repeatedly implicated in a series of additional wildfires. As a result, PG&E officially filed for bankruptcy on Jan. 29, 2019. Despite the filing, the common stock continues to trade on hopes that the ultimate bankruptcy settlement will preserve a certain amount of shareholder equity.

PG&E shares started the 2010s trading at around $44. For most of the decade, the stock marched steadily higher with little volatility, as utility stocks often do. PG&E reached its decade high price of $71.57 in mid-2017, just as the first of the wildfires started to ravage California.

By late 2019, PG&E shares had hit their low point of the decade, dropping all the way down to $3.55 on fears that a wildfire-driven bankruptcy would potentially wipe out all shareholder equity. Since that time, the stock has rebounded to around $9 on hopes that the company’s wildfire liability won’t ultimately be as bad as some had feared.

2020 And Beyond

Despite the recent optimism, there’s no question PG&E was a disastrous investment in the 2010s.

In fact, $100 worth of PG&E stock in 2010 would be worth $28 today, assuming reinvested dividends.

Looking ahead, analysts expect PG&E will bounce back in 2020. The average price target among the nine analysts covering the stock is $15 suggesting 70.6% upside from current levels.

Related Links:

Here's How Much Investing $100 In Walgreens Stock Back In 2010 Would Be Worth Today

Here's How Much Investing $100 In Fannie Mae Stock Back In 2010 Would Be Worth Today

Photo credit: Frank Deanrdo, Flickr

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Comments
Loading...
Posted In: EducationMoversTrading IdeasGeneral
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!