Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.5455.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $21.00 price objective on Pacific Gas & Electric and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on Pacific Gas & Electric from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Pacific Gas & Electric from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Pacific Gas & Electric to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a research note on Monday, December 29th.

Pacific Gas & Electric Stock Performance

Shares of PCG stock opened at $15.72 on Thursday. Pacific Gas & Electric has a one year low of $12.97 and a one year high of $17.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $15.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.31. The firm has a market cap of $34.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.38.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.33 billion. Pacific Gas & Electric had a net margin of 10.93% and a return on equity of 11.10%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Pacific Gas & Electric will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Pacific Gas & Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Pacific Gas & Electric’s payout ratio is presently 16.81%.

Insider Activity

In other Pacific Gas & Electric news, Director John O. Larsen bought 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $15.96 per share, for a total transaction of $119,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 18,111 shares in the company, valued at $289,051.56. This trade represents a 70.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pacific Gas & Electric

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 58,079,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $819,447,000 after buying an additional 1,676,093 shares in the last quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 510.0% in the second quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC now owns 960,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,389,000 after acquiring an additional 803,000 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 3,875.9% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 639,689 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,280,000 after purchasing an additional 623,600 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 499.7% during the second quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 433,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,037,000 after purchasing an additional 360,845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 49.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 947,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,264,000 after purchasing an additional 315,133 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company Profile

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE: PCG) is an investor-owned utility holding company whose principal operating subsidiary, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, provides electricity and natural gas service in northern and central California. The company’s core activities include the generation, procurement, transmission and distribution of electric power, as well as the transmission and distribution of natural gas. PG&E serves a broad mix of residential, commercial, and industrial customers across urban and rural communities within its California service territory.

PG&E’s operations encompass utility infrastructure planning and construction, grid operations, customer service and energy procurement.