Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $21.2727.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Pacific Gas & Electric from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a report on Friday.

Pacific Gas & Electric Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE PCG opened at $17.48 on Tuesday. Pacific Gas & Electric has a 1-year low of $12.97 and a 1-year high of $19.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.28 and a 200-day moving average of $16.33. The firm has a market cap of $38.41 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.33.

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

Pacific Gas & Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Pacific Gas & Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.95%.

Insider Activity at Pacific Gas & Electric

In other Pacific Gas & Electric news, EVP John R. Simon sold 45,607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $820,926.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 392,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,061,454. This represents a 10.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 31,786 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.31, for a total value of $582,001.66. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 195,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,572,116.21. This trade represents a 14.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 84,286 shares of company stock worth $1,528,746 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pacific Gas & Electric

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Pacific Gas & Electric in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Pacific Gas & Electric by 826.2% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,735 shares during the period. Tobam bought a new position in Pacific Gas & Electric in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 3,240.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301 shares during the period. 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.