Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) Sets New 12-Month Low - Should You Sell?

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $13.34 and last traded at $13.48, with a volume of 1345299 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on PCG shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Pacific Gas & Electric from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays decreased their target price on Pacific Gas & Electric from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Pacific Gas & Electric from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Pacific Gas & Electric to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Pacific Gas & Electric presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.73.

Pacific Gas & Electric Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $15.46 and a 200 day moving average of $16.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Pacific Gas & Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. Pacific Gas & Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 32,519 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.30, for a total transaction of $562,578.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 151,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,614,306.80. The trade was a 17.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Pacific Gas & Electric by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 257,285,352 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,420,162,000 after purchasing an additional 2,926,384 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 51,988,553 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,046,462,000 after acquiring an additional 2,151,494 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 70.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 46,805,768 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $944,540,000 after acquiring an additional 19,317,171 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Pacific Gas & Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $591,625,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Pacific Gas & Electric by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,944,322 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $342,643,000 after acquiring an additional 818,377 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.56% of the company's stock.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company Profile

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.