Brokerages Set Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) PT at $20.55

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the twelve analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $20.55.

PCG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Argus raised shares of Pacific Gas & Electric to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

Pacific Gas & Electric Stock Up 1.7%

PCG traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $14.09. 30,885,087 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,811,028. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $14.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.94. The company has a market cap of $37.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.55. Pacific Gas & Electric has a fifty-two week low of $12.97 and a fifty-two week high of $21.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.02). Pacific Gas & Electric had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 10.35%. The business had revenue of $5.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.37 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Pacific Gas & Electric will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Pacific Gas & Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pacific Gas & Electric news, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 32,519 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.30, for a total value of $562,578.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 151,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,614,306.80. The trade was a 17.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pacific Gas & Electric

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 55.6% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 77,846 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,337,000 after buying an additional 27,832 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 431.2% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,469 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 2,816 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 738.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 176,043 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,024,000 after purchasing an additional 155,052 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 38.1% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,316 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 1,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 138.8% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 254,549 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,373,000 after purchasing an additional 147,964 shares in the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Pacific Gas & Electric

PG&E Corp. operates as a holding company, which engages in generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity and natural gas to customers. It specializes in energy, utility, power, gas, electricity, solar and sustainability. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Oakland, CA.