PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Now Covered by BMO Capital Markets

Equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of PG&E (NYSE:PCG) in a research report issued on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $21.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 22.09% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on PCG. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of PG&E from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on PG&E in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho upped their price target on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on PG&E from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.64.

PG&E Price Performance

PCG stock opened at $17.20 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $44.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $20.35 and its 200 day moving average is $19.50. PG&E has a 52 week low of $15.94 and a 52 week high of $21.72.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.58 billion. PG&E had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 11.11%. PG&E’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.24 EPS. Research analysts predict that PG&E will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at PG&E

In other news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total transaction of $1,147,766.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,460,222 shares in the company, valued at $30,168,186.52. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of PG&E

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted 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 buying an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank boosted its stake in PG&E by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 47,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $930,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of PG&E by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of PG&E by 11.4% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 7,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PG&E by 2.6% during the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.