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

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

PCG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Pacific Gas & Electric from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group upped their price target on Pacific Gas & Electric from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Pacific Gas & Electric in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Pacific Gas & Electric from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Pacific Gas & Electric to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th.

Pacific Gas & Electric Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE:PCG opened at $15.63 on Thursday. 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 has a market cap of $34.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.38. Pacific Gas & Electric has a fifty-two week low of $12.97 and a fifty-two week high of $17.95. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.36.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.37 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Pacific Gas & Electric will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a $0.05 dividend. This is a boost from Pacific Gas & Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Pacific Gas & Electric’s payout ratio is presently 16.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John O. Larsen bought 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.96 per share, for a total transaction of $119,700.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 18,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $289,051.56. This represents a 70.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pacific Gas & Electric

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Pacific Gas & Electric by 3.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 58,079,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $819,447,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676,093 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 5,799,953 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $80,851,000 after purchasing an additional 111,125 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 4,497,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,694,000 after purchasing an additional 189,353 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 23.6% during the 2nd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 1,174,404 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,371,000 after purchasing an additional 223,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 510.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC now owns 960,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,389,000 after purchasing an additional 803,000 shares during the period. 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.