Analysts Set Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) PT at $20.55

Shares of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.5455.

PCG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $21.00 target price on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Pacific Gas & Electric from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Pacific Gas & Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a report on Monday. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a report on Thursday, December 4th.

Insider Activity at Pacific Gas & Electric

In other news, Director John O. Larsen bought 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $15.96 per share, with a total value of $119,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $289,051.56. The trade was a 70.68% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Gas & Electric

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Pacific Gas & Electric during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 826.2% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,735 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in the first quarter worth $39,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 3,240.8% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 2,301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Pacific Gas & Electric during the third quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

Pacific Gas & Electric Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Pacific Gas & Electric stock opened at $15.79 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.12. Pacific Gas & Electric has a fifty-two week low of $12.97 and a fifty-two week high of $20.43. The firm has a market cap of $34.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Pacific Gas & Electric had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 10.93%.The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pacific Gas & Electric will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This is a boost from Pacific Gas & Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Pacific Gas & Electric’s payout ratio is currently 8.40%.

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.