Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) Director Sells $46,700.00 in Stock

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) Director Kerry Whorton Cooper sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.68, for a total transaction of $46,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 73,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,366,273.88. This trade represents a 3.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Pacific Gas & Electric Stock Performance

Shares of PCG traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $18.38. 26,443,299 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,041,016. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.33. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. has a 52-week low of $12.97 and a 52-week high of $19.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.36. Pacific Gas & Electric had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 11.28%. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Gas & Electric

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PCG. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in the first quarter valued at about $203,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Pacific Gas & Electric by 16.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 46,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $806,000 after buying an additional 6,601 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in Pacific Gas & Electric by 41.2% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 185,324 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,184,000 after buying an additional 54,033 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in Pacific Gas & Electric by 93.0% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 83,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after buying an additional 40,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB acquired a new stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,298,000. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on PCG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Pacific Gas & Electric from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group upgraded Pacific Gas & Electric from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Pacific Gas & Electric from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Mizuho set a $21.00 target price on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.09.

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.