PG&E: Beneficiary of SB254-Driven Wildfire Liability Reform and Improving Risk-Reward Profile

Ryan Levine, an analyst from Citi, maintained the Buy rating on PG&E. The associated price target remains the same with $21.00.

Ryan Levine has given his Buy rating due to a combination of factors tied to the evolving SB254 process and its implications for California utilities. He expects the California Earthquake Authority’s final report to underscore that the current wildfire risk framework is untenable, pushing legislators to act and potentially reduce the sector’s long‑term risk profile.

Levine also highlights that policy options under discussion, such as mechanisms to lower wildfire liability uncertainty and rebalance how those costs are shared between customers and shareholders, could materially improve utilities’ cost of capital and bankruptcy risk. In his view, this setup creates an attractive risk‑reward skew for PG&E, supporting an expected total return that justifies a Buy rating on the shares.

In another report released today, UBS also upgraded the stock to a Buy with a $23.00 price target.