Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) Receives "Hold" Rating from Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a Hold on Pacific Gas & Electric (PCG) and lowered its price target to $19 from $20, implying roughly a 9.48% upside from the current share price.
• The consensus analyst view remains a Hold with an average target of $21.27 — analyst ratings are mixed (7 Buys, 6 Holds, 1 Sell) and some firms have higher targets (JPMorgan $24, Morgan Stanley $23).
• PCG reported quarterly EPS of $0.36 in line with estimates but missed revenue forecasts, and insiders sold about 84,286 shares (~$1.53 million) in the last quarter.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold" rating restated by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $19.00 price objective on the utilities provider's stock, down from their prior price objective of $20.00. Jefferies Financial Group's target price points to a potential upside of 9.48% from the company's current price.

PCG has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group raised shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Pacific Gas & Electric from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $23.00 price target on Pacific Gas & Electric in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Pacific Gas & Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Seven equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pacific Gas & Electric currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $21.27.

Pacific Gas & Electric Stock Performance

Shares of PCG opened at $17.36 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $17.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.23. The stock has a market cap of $38.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.71, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Pacific Gas & Electric has a one year low of $12.97 and a one year high of $19.16.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) 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. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Pacific Gas & Electric will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 31,786 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 195,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,572,116.21. This represents a 14.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kerry Whorton Cooper sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.68, for a total value of $46,700.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 84,286 shares of company stock worth $1,528,746 in the last quarter. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 826.2% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,945 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,735 shares during the last quarter. Tobam bought a new stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Pacific Gas & Electric in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in Pacific Gas & Electric by 3,240.8% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 2,301 shares during the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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