UBS Group Downgrades PG&E (NYSE:PCG) to Neutral

PG&E (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at UBS Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $19.00 price target on the utilities provider's stock, down from their prior price target of $22.00. UBS Group's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 12.39% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on PCG. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of PG&E from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of PG&E from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of PG&E in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.05.

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PG&E Stock Performance

Shares of PG&E stock traded down $0.30 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $16.91. 31,887,752 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,159,453. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $16.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.77. PG&E has a 1-year low of $14.99 and a 1-year high of $21.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The company had revenue of $6.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 previous year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that PG&E will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at PG&E

In related news, Director Arno Lockheart Harris acquired 6,389 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.66 per share, for a total transaction of $100,051.74. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,864 shares in the company, valued at $232,770.24. This trade represents a 75.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 32,521 shares of the company'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 transaction of $532,368.77. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 183,635 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,006,104.95. This represents a 15.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PG&E

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PCG. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in PG&E by 68.3% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,543 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in PG&E by 1,233.6% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,690 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in PG&E by 563.0% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,916 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,627 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in PG&E by 61.5% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 825 shares during the period. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About PG&E

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.