JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) Price Target to $21.00

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) had its price target trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $22.00 to $21.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $21.00 price target on Pacific Gas & Electric and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Pacific Gas & Electric from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Pacific Gas & Electric from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.55.

Pacific Gas & Electric Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of PCG stock opened at $15.17 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.15. Pacific Gas & Electric has a twelve month low of $12.97 and a twelve month high of $20.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $33.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.37.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Pacific Gas & Electric had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 10.93%.The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter. As a group, research analysts predict that Pacific Gas & Electric will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Pacific Gas & Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. Pacific Gas & Electric’s payout ratio is 8.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pacific Gas & Electric

In other Pacific Gas & Electric news, Director John O. Larsen bought 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.96 per share, with a total value of $119,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 18,111 shares in the company, valued at $289,051.56. The trade was a 70.68% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PCG. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Pacific Gas & Electric by 278.2% in the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 86,665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,505,000 after acquiring an additional 63,747 shares during the period. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 510.0% during the second quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC now owns 960,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,389,000 after acquiring an additional 803,000 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 58,079,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $819,447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676,093 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 4,497,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,694,000 after purchasing an additional 189,353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio grew its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 23.6% in the 2nd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 1,174,404 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,371,000 after purchasing an additional 223,904 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company Profile

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.