Morgan Stanley Raises PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Price Target to $20.00

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) had its price target upped by Morgan Stanley from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential upside of 0.91% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on PCG. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of PG&E from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of PG&E from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of PG&E from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.55.

PG&E Stock Performance

NYSE:PCG remained flat at $19.82 during mid-day trading on Wednesday. 3,069,857 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,466,080. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $18.91 and its 200 day moving average is $17.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.01. PG&E has a 12-month low of $14.71 and a 12-month high of $20.65.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.01. PG&E had a return on equity of 11.76% and a net margin of 10.22%. The firm had revenue of $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.86 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PG&E will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other PG&E news, VP Stephanie N. Williams sold 38,601 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.32, for a total value of $707,170.32. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 19,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $350,168.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PG&E

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in PG&E in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of PG&E by 84.7% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of PG&E by 77.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,027 shares during the period. Vima LLC bought a new position in PG&E in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in PG&E in the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

PG&E Company Profile

PG&E Corporation, through its subsidiary, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, engages in the sale and delivery of electricity and natural gas to customers in northern and central California, the United States. It generates electricity using nuclear, hydroelectric, fossil fuel-fired, fuel cell, and photovoltaic sources.