PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Given New $22.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) had its target price lowered by BMO Capital Markets from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group cut PG&E from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of 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 increased their price objective on shares of PG&E from $16.50 to $17.50 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of PG&E in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of PG&E from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.95.

PG&E Stock Performance

Shares of PG&E stock opened at $17.08 on Monday. PG&E has a 1 year low of $14.99 and a 1 year high of $21.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $16.38 and its 200 day moving average is $18.40. The stock has a market cap of $45.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.85, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The firm 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PG&E will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. PG&E’s payout ratio is currently 8.70%.

Insider Transactions at PG&E

In other PG&E news, Director Arno Lockheart Harris bought 6,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.66 per share, with a total value of $100,051.74. Following the purchase, the director now owns 14,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $232,770.24. This trade represents a 75.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 value of $532,368.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 183,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,006,104.95. The trade was a 15.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PCG. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position 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. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PG&E by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in PG&E by 7.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PG&E by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 42,747 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $738,000 after buying an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. increased its holdings 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 worth $86,000 after buying an additional 825 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

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.