Analysts Set Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) Price Target at $21.27

Shares of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the fourteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $21.2727.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PCG. Mizuho set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a research note on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Pacific Gas & Electric from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Pacific Gas & Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $19.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a report on Monday, March 23rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John R. Simon sold 45,607 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $820,926.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 392,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,061,454. This represents a 10.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerry Whorton Cooper sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.68, for a total value of $46,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 73,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,366,273.88. The trade was a 3.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 84,286 shares of company stock worth $1,528,746 over the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tobam purchased a new stake in Pacific Gas & Electric during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 59.5% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 468,091 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,522,000 after buying an additional 174,564 shares during the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. raised its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 96.5% during the 4th quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 110,915 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,782,000 after buying an additional 54,474 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 9,454 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 2,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Syon Capital LLC grew its position in Pacific Gas & Electric by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 56,014 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $900,000 after acquiring an additional 4,783 shares in the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pacific Gas & Electric Price Performance

NYSE PCG opened at $17.78 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $17.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.34. 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 has a 1-year low of $12.97 and a 1-year high of $19.16.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.36. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.05 billion. Pacific Gas & Electric had a return on equity of 11.28% and a net margin of 10.84%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Pacific Gas & Electric will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Pacific Gas & Electric’s payout ratio is currently 16.95%.

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.