Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $17.21 According to Analysts

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $17.21.

PCG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. reduced their price objective on Pacific Gas & Electric from $22.00 to $15.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Pacific Gas & Electric from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Pacific Gas & Electric from $13.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Pacific Gas & Electric from $19.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st.

Insider Activity at Pacific Gas & Electric

In other Pacific Gas & Electric news, Director Mark E. Ferguson III sold 8,675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.22, for a total value of $114,683.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,440. The trade was a 81.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John O. Larsen purchased 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.20 per share, with a total value of $91,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 36,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $447,557. The trade was a 25.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Pacific Gas & Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at about $398,915,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Pacific Gas & Electric during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $320,820,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new position in Pacific Gas & Electric during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $314,855,000. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Pacific Gas & Electric in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $300,895,000. Finally, Man Group plc purchased a new position in Pacific Gas & Electric in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $188,513,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

Pacific Gas & Electric Stock Performance

NYSE PCG opened at $13.26 on Wednesday. Pacific Gas & Electric has a 52-week low of $11.77 and a 52-week high of $19.16. The company has a fifty day moving average of $13.05 and a 200-day moving average of $16.12. The company has a market capitalization of $35.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.01). Pacific Gas & Electric had a net margin of 12.00% and a return on equity of 11.49%. The firm had revenue of $6.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Pacific Gas & Electric will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Pacific Gas & Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 14.81%.

About Pacific Gas & Electric

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is a regulated utility that provides electricity and natural gas to homes and businesses in Northern and Central California. Its services include generating, purchasing, transmitting and distributing electricity, as well as delivering natural gas through its pipeline network. The utility is a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation, whose common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PCG. The company traces its roots to California’s early gas and electric utilities and was incorporated in 1905.