Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PCG) – What Are Brokerages Thinking About This Stock?

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $17.36.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PCG shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $13.00 price target on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Pacific Gas & Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Pacific Gas & Electric from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut Pacific Gas & Electric from an “overweight” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John Larsen acquired 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.20 per share, for a total transaction of $91,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 36,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $447,557. The trade was a 25.70% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William Fugate sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total value of $89,440.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 73,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,011,772.80. The trade was a 8.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 5,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Pacific Gas & Electric by 5.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,368 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 885 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Pacific Gas & Electric by 19.6% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 6,636 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 1,088 shares during the last quarter. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Pacific Gas & Electric in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Tobam acquired a new position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 78.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pacific Gas & Electric Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PCG opened at $13.15 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. Pacific Gas & Electric has a fifty-two week low of $11.77 and a fifty-two week high of $19.16. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.03. The company has a market cap of $35.25 billion, a PE ratio of 9.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.28.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.04. Pacific Gas & Electric had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 12.25%. The business had revenue of $5.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pacific Gas & Electric will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Pacific Gas & Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.49%.

About Pacific Gas & Electric

PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG) is the holding company for Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a regulated utility that provides electricity and natural gas delivery services in Northern and Central California. Its operations include maintaining and operating electric transmission and distribution networks, natural gas pipelines, substations, and other infrastructure used to serve residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural customers.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company serves a broad portion of California, including the San Francisco Bay Area, the Central Valley, and parts of the northern and central regions of the state.