Bank of America Begins Coverage on PG&E (NYSE:PCG)

Bank of America started coverage on shares of PG&E (NYSE:PCG) in a report published on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $24.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock.

PCG has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of PG&E from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of PG&E from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of PG&E from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PG&E currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $21.45.

PG&E Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PCG opened at $19.77 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $18.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.76. PG&E has a 12 month low of $14.71 and a 12 month high of $20.65. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $51.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65 and a beta of 1.01.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.01. PG&E had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 11.76%. The firm had revenue of $5.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.86 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.23 EPS. PG&E’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PG&E will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Stephanie N. Williams sold 38,601 shares of PG&E stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $350,168.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PG&E

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PG&E in the second quarter valued at about $1,231,000. Souders Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of PG&E by 3.3% in the second quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 187,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,279,000 after purchasing an additional 5,966 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PG&E in the second quarter valued at about $56,679,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of PG&E by 232.7% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 39,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 27,289 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of PG&E by 146.5% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 10,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 6,501 shares during the period. 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.