Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $15.15 and traded as high as $16.07. Pacific Gas & Electric shares last traded at $15.9910, with a volume of 9,676,391 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PCG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Pacific Gas & Electric to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Pacific Gas & Electric from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pacific Gas & Electric presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.55.

Pacific Gas & Electric Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.90 and a 200-day moving average of $15.15. The company has a market cap of $35.15 billion, a PE ratio of 13.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.37.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter. Pacific Gas & Electric had a net margin of 10.93% and a return on equity of 11.10%. The business had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter. Equities research analysts anticipate that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a 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 presently 8.40%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John O. Larsen bought 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $15.96 per share, for a total transaction of $119,700.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 18,111 shares in the company, valued at $289,051.56. This trade represents a 70.68% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pacific Gas & Electric

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 3.0% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Sessa Capital IM L.P. purchased a new position in Pacific Gas & Electric during the first quarter valued at $320,984,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 317.2% during the first 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 during the last quarter. ATLAS Infrastructure Partners UK Ltd. boosted its holdings in Pacific Gas & Electric by 193.4% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 2.0% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 5,799,953 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $80,851,000 after acquiring an additional 111,125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

About Pacific Gas & Electric

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.