Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) Stock Price Down 4.2% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• PCG fell 4.2% on Monday to about $17.77 with markedly lower trading volume than average, signaling weakness in near-term price action.
• Analysts are mixed but slightly positive: the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $21.27 and several firms raising targets to $23–$24.
• Operationally, PG&E reported EPS in line with estimates but missed revenue; it carries a P/E of ~14.7, market cap of ~$38.2B, and pays a $0.05 quarterly dividend (≈1.1% yield).

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) fell 4.2% on Monday . The company traded as low as $17.82 and last traded at $17.7650. 4,692,706 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 21,935,570 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PCG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Pacific Gas & Electric from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $23.00 target price on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.27.

Pacific Gas & Electric Stock Performance

The business's fifty day moving average price is $17.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.34.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.36. Pacific Gas & Electric had a return on equity of 11.28% and a net margin of 10.84%.The company had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kerry Whorton Cooper sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.68, for a total transaction of $46,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 73,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,366,273.88. This trade represents a 3.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Simon sold 45,607 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $820,926.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 392,303 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,061,454. The trade was a 10.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 84,286 shares of company stock worth $1,528,746 over the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PCG. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Pacific Gas & Electric in the 1st quarter valued at about $203,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 16.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 46,936 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $806,000 after acquiring an additional 6,601 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 41.2% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 185,324 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,184,000 after acquiring an additional 54,033 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 93.0% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 83,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 40,380 shares during the period. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 499.7% in the second quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 433,064 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,037,000 after purchasing an additional 360,845 shares during the period. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company Profile

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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