BMO Capital Markets Cuts PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Price Target to $22.00

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) had its price objective trimmed by BMO Capital Markets from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of PG&E from $16.50 to $17.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays cut their target price on PG&E from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of PG&E in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group cut PG&E from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered PG&E from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PG&E currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.95.

PG&E Stock Performance

Shares of PCG opened at $17.23 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The stock has a market cap of $46.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $16.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.38. PG&E has a 52 week low of $14.99 and a 52 week high of $21.72.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The business had revenue of $6.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that PG&E will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.025 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 32,521 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.37, for a total value of $532,368.77. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 183,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,006,104.95. This trade represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arno Lockheart Harris acquired 6,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $15.66 per share, for a total transaction of $100,051.74. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 14,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PG&E

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in PG&E by 138.8% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 254,549 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,373,000 after buying an additional 147,964 shares during the period. Krilogy Financial LLC bought a new stake in PG&E during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $212,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC bought a new stake in PG&E during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $193,000. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in PG&E by 35.1% in the 1st quarter. CX Institutional now owns 13,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 3,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in PG&E by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 37,756 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 4,880 shares during the period. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by 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.