Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) Given Hold Rating at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group restated their hold rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) in a report issued on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $19.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $20.00.

PCG has been the topic of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Pacific Gas & Electric from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Pacific Gas & Electric from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $23.00 price target on Pacific Gas & Electric in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.27.

Pacific Gas & Electric Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of PCG opened at $17.38 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. Pacific Gas & Electric has a 12-month low of $12.97 and a 12-month high of $19.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $17.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.33.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.05 billion. Pacific Gas & Electric had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 11.28%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Pacific Gas & Electric will post 1.49 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Pacific Gas & Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kerry Whorton Cooper sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.68, for a total transaction of $46,700.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 73,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,366,273.88. This represents a 3.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 31,786 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.31, for a total value of $582,001.66. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 195,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,572,116.21. This trade represents a 14.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 84,286 shares of company stock valued at $1,528,746. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $14,264,000 after buying an additional 315,133 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 4.4% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new position in Pacific Gas & Electric in the second quarter worth approximately $1,298,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Pacific Gas & Electric by 32.3% during the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 251,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,789,000 after acquiring an additional 61,349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Hedge funds and other 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.