Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) Upgraded by Argus to "Hold" Rating

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Argus to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also commented on PCG. UBS Group lowered shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $18.00 target price on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Pacific Gas & Electric from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pacific Gas & Electric presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.73.

Pacific Gas & Electric Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE PCG opened at $13.55 on Monday. Pacific Gas & Electric has a 52-week low of $13.34 and a 52-week high of $21.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $16.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.95.

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

Insider Transactions at Pacific Gas & Electric

In related news, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 32,519 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 151,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,614,306.80. The trade was a 17.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Gas & Electric

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 2,173 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,066 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 772 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 1.9% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 42,747 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. grew its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 4,271 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 2.4% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 38,625 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $664,000 after purchasing an additional 887 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.56% of the company's stock.

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.

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