Pampa Energia (NYSE:PAM) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Pampa Energia's stock rating was downgraded from "hold" to "sell" by analysts at Wall Street Zen, indicating a more negative outlook for the company.
• Despite the downgrade, the company maintains a consensus "Hold" rating from analysts with an average price target of $85.83.
• Pampa Energia reported a disappointing earnings performance, with an EPS of $0.70, significantly missing the consensus estimate of $2.35.

Pampa Energia (NYSE:PAM - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Friday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on PAM. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Pampa Energia from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Pampa Energia from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $92.75.

Pampa Energia Stock Performance

PAM traded down $0.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $62.05. 302,569 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 389,042. The firm has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.16. The stock's fifty day moving average is $71.13 and its 200 day moving average is $74.11. The company has a quick ratio of 2.33, a current ratio of 2.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Pampa Energia has a one year low of $55.36 and a one year high of $97.55.

Pampa Energia (NYSE:PAM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.35 by ($1.65). The company had revenue of $486.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $632.05 million. Pampa Energia had a net margin of 23.73% and a return on equity of 13.01%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Pampa Energia will post 9.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PAM. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Pampa Energia in the second quarter worth $37,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Pampa Energia in the second quarter worth $51,000. Advisors Preferred LLC increased its stake in shares of Pampa Energia by 158.9% in the first quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 730 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the period. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pampa Energia in the first quarter worth $186,000. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Pampa Energia in the first quarter worth $221,000. 12.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Pampa Energia

Pampa Energía SA operates as an integrated power company in Argentina. The company operates through Electricity Generation, Oil and Gas, Petrochemicals, and Holding and Other Business segments. It generates electricity through thermal plants, hydroelectric plants, and wind farms with a 5,332 megawatt (MW) installed capacity.