Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) Receives $20.55 Average Price Target from Analysts

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.6364.

PCG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Mizuho set a $21.00 price target on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of 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, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a research note on Thursday, December 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pacific Gas & Electric news, Director John O. Larsen bought 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.96 per share, with a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Gas & Electric

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 826.2% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,735 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 3,240.8% in the 3rd 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. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Pacific Gas & Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in Pacific Gas & Electric by 908.8% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 6,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 5,962 shares during the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pacific Gas & Electric Stock Down 0.5%

PCG stock opened at $15.17 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $33.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.75, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Pacific Gas & Electric has a twelve month low of $12.97 and a twelve month high of $17.95. The company’s 50 day moving average is $15.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.37.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.06. Pacific Gas & Electric had a net margin of 10.93% and a return on equity of 11.10%. The business had revenue of $6.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Pacific Gas & Electric will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Increases Dividend

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

Pacific Gas & Electric Company Profile

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.