JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) Price Target to $24.00

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) had its target price boosted by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $21.00 to $24.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 31.76% from the stock’s current price.

PCG has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a research note on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $23.00 price target on Pacific Gas & Electric in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Pacific Gas & Electric from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.36.

Pacific Gas & Electric Stock Up 0.2%

PCG opened at $18.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $40.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.97. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $17.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.21. Pacific Gas & Electric has a twelve month low of $12.97 and a twelve month high of $19.16.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.36. Pacific Gas & Electric had a return on equity of 11.28% and a net margin of 10.84%.The company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Pacific Gas & Electric will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pacific Gas & Electric news, EVP John R. Simon sold 45,607 shares of Pacific Gas & Electric stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $820,926.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 392,303 shares in the company, valued at $7,061,454. The trade was a 10.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kerry Whorton Cooper sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.68, for a total transaction of $46,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 73,141 shares in the company, valued at $1,366,273.88. This trade represents a 3.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 84,286 shares of company stock valued at $1,528,746 over the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Pacific Gas & Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 826.2% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,735 shares in the last quarter. Tobam acquired a new position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 3,240.8% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

About Pacific Gas & Electric

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.