Wall Street Zen Upgrades Pampa Energia (NYSE:PAM) to Strong-Buy

Pampa Energia (NYSE:PAM) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on PAM. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pampa Energia in a research note on Friday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Pampa Energia from $97.50 to $101.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Pampa Energia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.83.

Pampa Energia Stock Performance

Shares of PAM stock opened at $79.03 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.31. Pampa Energia has a one year low of $54.95 and a one year high of $94.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a PE ratio of 7.50, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 3.64 and a quick ratio of 3.23.

Pampa Energia (NYSE:PAM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The utilities provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter. Pampa Energia had a net margin of 23.58% and a return on equity of 15.33%. The business had revenue of $746.00 million during the quarter. As a group, research analysts forecast that Pampa Energia will post 10.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Pampa Energia

In other Pampa Energia news, Director Marcos Marcelo Mindlin sold 1,800,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.48, for a total value of $6,264,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,971,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,902,466.04. The trade was a 6.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Damian Miguel Mindlin sold 555,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.55, for a total value of $1,970,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 12,541,870 shares in the company, valued at $44,523,638.50. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 1,685,694 shares of company stock worth $5,666,005 and sold 5,357,000 shares worth $18,666,070. 55.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Pampa Energia during the second quarter worth $37,000. NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Pampa Energia in the fourth quarter valued at $104,000. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in Pampa Energia in the third quarter valued at $139,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Pampa Energia in the fourth quarter valued at $212,000. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pampa Energia during the fourth quarter valued at about $234,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

About Pampa Energia

Pampa Energía SA is Argentina’s largest independent energy company, with integrated operations spanning electricity generation, transmission, distribution and oil and gas activities. The company holds a diversified portfolio of thermal and hydroelectric power plants, along with growing investments in renewable energy projects, serving both domestic and regional markets.

In its electricity business, Pampa Energía develops and operates plants that supply energy to Argentina’s power grid.