Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Pacific Gas & Electric to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. TD Cowen began coverage on Pacific Gas & Electric in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. Cowen initiated coverage on Pacific Gas & Electric in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on Pacific Gas & Electric from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pacific Gas & Electric presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.64.

Pacific Gas & Electric Price Performance

Pacific Gas & Electric stock opened at $16.59 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.59. Pacific Gas & Electric has a 12-month low of $12.97 and a 12-month high of $21.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $15.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.38.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter. Pacific Gas & Electric had a net margin of 10.93% and a return on equity of 11.10%. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.025 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Pacific Gas & Electric’s payout ratio is presently 8.40%.

Insider Transactions at Pacific Gas & Electric

In other Pacific Gas & Electric news, Director John O. Larsen purchased 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.96 per share, for a total transaction of $119,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 18,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $289,051.56. This represents a 70.68% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Gas & Electric

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sessa Capital IM L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in the 1st quarter valued at $320,984,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Pacific Gas & Electric by 352.3% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 19,172,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $329,384,000 after purchasing an additional 14,933,364 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Pacific Gas & Electric by 317.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 16,464,333 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $280,305,000 after purchasing an additional 12,518,011 shares in the last quarter. ATLAS Infrastructure Partners UK Ltd. increased its holdings in Pacific Gas & Electric by 193.4% in the 1st quarter. ATLAS Infrastructure Partners UK Ltd. now owns 10,428,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $179,159,000 after purchasing an additional 6,873,576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Pacific Gas & Electric by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 257,285,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,420,162,000 after purchasing an additional 2,926,384 shares during the period. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Pacific Gas & Electric

PG&E Corp. operates as a holding company, which engages in generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity and natural gas to customers. It specializes in energy, utility, power, gas, electricity, solar and sustainability. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Oakland, CA.