PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Downgraded by Morgan Stanley to Underweight

Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of PG&E (NYSE:PCG) from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $16.50 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their previous target price of $20.00.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Mizuho lifted their target price on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group reduced their target price on PG&E from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on PG&E in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of PG&E in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on PG&E from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.05.

PG&E Stock Performance

Shares of PG&E stock opened at $15.30 on Friday. PG&E has a one year low of $14.99 and a one year high of $21.72. The company has a market cap of $40.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.95, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.99. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $17.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.19.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31. PG&E had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 11.11%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that PG&E will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $30,168,186.52. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of PG&E by 68.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of PG&E by 61.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of PG&E by 77.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of PG&E by 98.5% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 2,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its position in shares of PG&E by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 4,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 825 shares in the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.