Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) Upgraded to “Buy” at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on PCG. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Pacific Gas & Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Mizuho set a $21.00 price objective on Pacific Gas & Electric in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.09.

Pacific Gas & Electric Trading Down 0.1%

PCG stock opened at $18.16 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $16.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.05. Pacific Gas & Electric has a fifty-two week low of $12.97 and a fifty-two week high of $19.16. The firm has a market cap of $39.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. Pacific Gas & Electric had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 11.28%. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Pacific Gas & Electric will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Pacific Gas & Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John R. Simon sold 45,607 shares of Pacific Gas & Electric stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $820,926.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 392,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,061,454. The trade was a 10.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pacific Gas & Electric

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PCG. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric during the first quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 16.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 46,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $806,000 after buying an additional 6,601 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 41.2% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 185,324 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,184,000 after buying an additional 54,033 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 93.0% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 83,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,440,000 after acquiring an additional 40,380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 510.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC now owns 960,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,389,000 after acquiring an additional 803,000 shares during the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.