BMO Capital Markets Issues Pessimistic Forecast for PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Stock Price

PG&E (NYSE:PCG - Free Report) had its price objective decreased by BMO Capital Markets from $23.00 to $22.00 in a report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider's stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on PCG. Guggenheim downgraded shares of PG&E from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays lowered their target price on PG&E from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on PG&E from $16.50 to $17.50 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "overweight" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of PG&E in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of PG&E from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PG&E presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.95.

PG&E Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE PCG traded up $0.05 on Monday, reaching $17.23. The stock had a trading volume of 15,360,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,365,429. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $16.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.36. PG&E has a 12-month low of $14.99 and a 12-month high of $21.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31. The company had revenue of $6.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.29 billion. PG&E had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 10.94%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PG&E will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at PG&E

In other PG&E news, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 32,521 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 183,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,006,104.95. This trade represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arno Lockheart Harris purchased 6,389 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PG&E

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PCG. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in PG&E by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,337 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 772 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of PG&E by 1.9% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 42,747 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. raised its stake in shares of PG&E by 23.9% in 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 period. 78.56% of the stock is 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.