Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) Share Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $15.13 and traded as high as $15.99. Pacific Gas & Electric shares last traded at $15.7320, with a volume of 30,608,399 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PCG shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a research report on Monday. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a report on Thursday, December 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Pacific Gas & Electric to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $21.00 price target on Pacific Gas & Electric and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.55.

Pacific Gas & Electric Trading Down 0.6%

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 business’s 50-day moving average is $15.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.13. The firm has a market cap of $34.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.37.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.30 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, analysts predict that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. 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 Activity

In related news, Director John O. Larsen bought 7,500 shares of Pacific Gas & Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.96 per share, with a total value of $119,700.00. Following 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Gas & Electric

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sessa Capital IM L.P. acquired a new position in Pacific Gas & Electric in the first quarter valued at about $320,984,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Pacific Gas & Electric by 352.3% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 19,172,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $329,384,000 after buying an additional 14,933,364 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 12,518,011 shares in the last quarter. ATLAS Infrastructure Partners UK Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 193.4% during the 1st quarter. ATLAS Infrastructure Partners UK Ltd. now owns 10,428,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $179,159,000 after acquiring an additional 6,873,576 shares during the period. Finally, Silver Point Capital L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,091,000. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company Profile

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.