Pampa Energía (NYSE:PAM) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Pampa Energía S.A. (NYSE:PAM) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 393,403 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 50% from the previous session’s volume of 261,451 shares.The stock last traded at $87.25 and had previously closed at $86.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Pampa Energía from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Citigroup downgraded Pampa Energía from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Pampa Energía from $59.00 to $93.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Pampa Energía presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.63.

Pampa Energía Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.13. The stock has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.47.

Pampa Energía (NYSE:PAM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.95. The business had revenue of $540.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $517.71 million. Pampa Energía had a return on equity of 12.15% and a net margin of 19.86%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Pampa Energía S.A. will post 8.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pampa Energía

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Helikon Investments Ltd increased its position in Pampa Energía by 146.6% during the 3rd quarter. Helikon Investments Ltd now owns 1,319,415 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $79,218,000 after purchasing an additional 784,407 shares during the period. TT International Asset Management LTD lifted its holdings in Pampa Energía by 250.9% in the fourth quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 1,206,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $106,108,000 after buying an additional 862,723 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Pampa Energía by 428.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 628,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,818,000 after acquiring an additional 509,487 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Pampa Energía by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 158,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,513,000 after acquiring an additional 45,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fourth Sail Capital LP purchased a new stake in Pampa Energía in the third quarter worth $8,552,000. Institutional investors own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

About Pampa Energía

Pampa Energía SA operates as an integrated power company in Argentina. The company operates through Electricity Generation, Oil and Gas, Petrochemicals, and Holding and Other Business segments. It generates electricity through thermal plants, hydroelectric plants, and wind farms with a 5,332 megawatt (MW) installed capacity.