PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Downgraded to Neutral Rating by UBS Group

UBS Group cut shares of PG&E (NYSE:PCG) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $19.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their previous target price of $22.00.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on PCG. Guggenheim downgraded PG&E from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of PG&E from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $16.50 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of PG&E in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PG&E currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.05.

PG&E Price Performance

NYSE:PCG opened at $16.91 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.16 billion, a PE ratio of 14.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.04. PG&E has a 1-year low of $14.99 and a 1-year high of $21.72. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.79. 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) 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. PG&E had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The company had revenue of $6.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that PG&E will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 32,521 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arno Lockheart Harris purchased 6,389 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.66 per share, with a total value of $100,051.74. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 14,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $232,770.24. The trade was a 75.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in PG&E by 35.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 106,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,151,000 after purchasing an additional 27,873 shares during the period. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new position in PG&E during the 4th quarter worth $13,140,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of PG&E by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,703,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,386,000 after acquiring an additional 314,119 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PG&E in the fourth quarter valued at about $253,000. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of PG&E during the fourth quarter valued at about $6,823,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

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.