Pampa Energia (NYSE:PAM) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Pampa Energia from “strong buy” to “buy,” while the broader analyst consensus is “hold,” with two Buy ratings and three Hold ratings and an average price target of $103.83.
• Pampa Energia shares opened at $79.66, down from their 50- and 200-day moving averages near $83, despite reporting quarterly EPS of $2.50, revenue of $746 million, and a 23.58% net margin.
• Insiders sold more shares than they bought over the past 90 days, including significant sales by directors Marcos Marcelo Mindlin and Damian Miguel Mindlin; insiders collectively own 55.52% of the company, while institutions own 12.77%.

Pampa Energia (NYSE:PAM - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Sunday.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Pampa Energia from $97.50 to $101.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Zacks Research downgraded Pampa Energia from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Pampa Energia in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $103.83.

Pampa Energia Trading Up 0.3%

Pampa Energia stock opened at $79.66 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.04. Pampa Energia has a 52 week low of $54.95 and a 52 week high of $94.50. The stock has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 7.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 3.64, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Pampa Energia (NYSE:PAM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The utilities provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Pampa Energia had a net margin of 23.58% and a return on equity of 15.33%. The company had revenue of $746.00 million for the quarter. Equities research analysts predict that Pampa Energia will post 10.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Pampa Energia

In other news, Director Marcos Marcelo Mindlin sold 1,502,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.41, for a total transaction of $5,121,820.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 21,555,667 shares in the company, valued at $73,504,824.47. This represents a 6.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Damian Miguel Mindlin sold 555,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.55, for a total transaction of $1,970,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 12,541,870 shares in the company, valued at $44,523,638.50. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 2,985,619 shares of company stock valued at $10,011,724 and have sold 3,557,000 shares valued at $12,402,070. Corporate insiders own 55.52% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Pampa Energia

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Pampa Energia in the second quarter valued at $37,000. NFJ Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Pampa Energia during the fourth quarter worth about $104,000. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new position in shares of Pampa Energia in the 3rd quarter worth about $139,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pampa Energia in the 4th quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pampa Energia in the 4th quarter valued at about $234,000. 12.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Pampa Energia

Pampa Energía SA is Argentina's largest independent energy company, with integrated operations spanning electricity generation, transmission, distribution and oil and gas activities. The company holds a diversified portfolio of thermal and hydroelectric power plants, along with growing investments in renewable energy projects, serving both domestic and regional markets.

In its electricity business, Pampa Energía develops and operates plants that supply energy to Argentina's power grid.

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