Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) Trading 6.5% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG)’s share price rose 6.5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $14.79 and last traded at $14.1350. Approximately 72,455,557 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 213% from the average daily volume of 23,125,996 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.27.

More Pacific Gas & Electric News

Here are the key news stories impacting Pacific Gas & Electric this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PG&E plans to defer approximately $2 billion of 2027 spending, reducing its capital plan from $13.4 billion to $11.4 billion. The move should lower debt-financing needs while preserving critical safety and compliance investments. The company also issued 2027 EPS guidance of $1.78 to $1.82, broadly above or in line with the $1.80 consensus estimate. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: PG&E, Rewiring America and Google launched SHARE, a virtual power plant initiative intended to provide discounted home energy upgrades and enroll more than 20,000 customer-owned energy devices. The program could support grid reliability and help reduce customer costs over time. SHARE virtual power plant announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Patti Poppe said wildfire-liability reform could lower PG&E’s borrowing costs, help restore an investment-grade credit rating and unlock additional investment. However, the comments provide no immediate legislative resolution. CNBC article
• Negative Sentiment: The strategic review highlights continuing uncertainty around wildfire liabilities and PG&E’s long-term financing structure. Deferring investment may protect near-term cash flow but raises questions about the company’s growth outlook and ability to meet California’s rising power-demand needs. PG&E strategic review announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst sentiment has weakened: Truist cut PCG from Buy to Hold with a $17 target, while Bank of America lowered its rating to Neutral and reduced its target to $13 from $24. JPMorgan also cut its target to $18, although it maintained an Overweight rating. These actions reinforce concerns about the wildfire-reform setback despite the potential upside implied by some targets.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PCG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Pacific Gas & Electric from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $13.00 target price on Pacific Gas & Electric in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho set a $14.00 price target on Pacific Gas & Electric in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Pacific Gas & Electric from an “overweight” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $21.00 price objective (down from $28.00) on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.73.

Pacific Gas & Electric Trading Up 2.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $36.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $17.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.27.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.20 billion. Pacific Gas & Electric had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 12.48%. The firm’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. Pacific Gas & Electric has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.640-1.660 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Pacific Gas & Electric

In other news, EVP Marlene Santos sold 158,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $2,848,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 230,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,155,930. This trade represents a 40.67% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Gas & Electric

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PCG. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Pacific Gas & Electric in the first quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 16.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 46,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $806,000 after purchasing an additional 6,601 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 41.2% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 185,324 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,184,000 after purchasing an additional 54,033 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 93.0% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 83,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,440,000 after buying an additional 40,380 shares during the period. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 499.7% in the second quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 433,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,037,000 after buying an additional 360,845 shares during the period. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.