UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Stock Price

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) had its price objective dropped by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $26.00 to $24.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 21.09% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on PCG. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America initiated coverage on PG&E in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on PG&E in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on PG&E from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PG&E has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.80.

PG&E Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PCG opened at $19.82 on Thursday. PG&E has a one year low of $15.94 and a one year high of $21.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $51.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.29.

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

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 dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PG&E

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PG&E in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted 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 in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PG&E by 77.0% during 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 last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of PG&E in the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of PG&E by 243.0% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 4,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 2,863 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.