Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PCG) “Hold” Rating Reiterated at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) in a research report report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $19.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $20.00.

PCG has been the topic of a number of other reports. Mizuho set a $21.00 target price on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of 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 lowered shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Pacific Gas & Electric from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.27.

Pacific Gas & Electric Price Performance

Pacific Gas & Electric stock opened at $17.43 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $17.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.27. Pacific Gas & Electric has a 12 month low of $12.97 and a 12 month high of $19.16. The company has a market capitalization of $38.31 billion, a PE ratio of 14.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.36. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the previous year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Pacific Gas & Electric will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Pacific Gas & Electric

In other news, EVP John R. Simon sold 45,607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $820,926.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 392,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 through the SEC website. Also, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 31,786 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.31, for a total transaction of $582,001.66. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 84,286 shares of company stock worth $1,528,746. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pacific Gas & Electric

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in the 1st quarter worth about $203,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 46,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $806,000 after purchasing an additional 6,601 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 41.2% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 185,324 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,184,000 after purchasing an additional 54,033 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 93.0% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 83,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 40,380 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB bought a new stake in Pacific Gas & Electric in the second quarter worth approximately $1,298,000. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.