PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Stock Rating Lowered by Morgan Stanley

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) was downgraded by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $16.50 price target on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their previous price target of $20.00. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 7.88% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on PG&E from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of PG&E in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on PG&E in a report on Monday, January 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.05.

PG&E Price Performance

Shares of PG&E stock opened at $15.30 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $17.93 and a 200-day moving average of $19.20. PG&E has a 52-week low of $14.99 and a 52-week high of $21.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31. PG&E had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 11.11%. The firm had revenue of $6.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that PG&E will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at PG&E

In related news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of PG&E stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total transaction of $1,147,766.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,460,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,168,186.52. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PG&E

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PCG. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in PG&E by 68.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of PG&E by 61.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of PG&E by 77.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in PG&E by 98.5% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 2,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. grew its position in PG&E by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 4,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.