Carla Peterman Sells 31,786 Shares of Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) Stock

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) EVP Carla Peterman sold 31,786 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.31, for a total transaction of $582,001.66. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 195,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,572,116.21. This represents a 14.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Pacific Gas & Electric Stock Performance

Shares of PCG stock opened at $18.38 on Wednesday. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. has a 52 week low of $12.97 and a 52 week high of $19.16. The company has a market capitalization of $40.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.18. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.36. Pacific Gas & Electric had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 11.28%. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.05 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Gas & Electric

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PCG. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its position in Pacific Gas & Electric by 49.9% during the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 947,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,264,000 after acquiring an additional 315,133 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position 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 worth $62,694,000 after acquiring an additional 189,353 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,298,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 251,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,789,000 after purchasing an additional 61,349 shares during the period. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at about $200,000. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PCG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a report on Friday, February 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.09.

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.