Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Stock Price

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) had its price objective dropped by analysts at Barclays from $25.00 to $24.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 22.45% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on PCG. Mizuho lifted their target price on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of PG&E in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of PG&E in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.00.

PG&E Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PCG opened at $19.60 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $51.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.01. PG&E has a 1-year low of $15.94 and a 1-year high of $21.72.

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

Insider Activity at PG&E

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

Institutional Trading of PG&E

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PCG. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of PG&E by 3.1% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 22,458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank raised 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 worth $930,000 after acquiring an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in PG&E by 11.4% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 7,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 769 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd raised its position in PG&E by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 4,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew 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 worth $624,000 after buying an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is currently 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.