Pampa Energia (NYSE:PAM) Shares Up 8.4% - Time to Buy?

Pampa Energia S.A. (NYSE:PAM - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 8.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $75.40 and last traded at $74.86. 371,457 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 55% from the average session volume of 239,080 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Pampa Energia from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen raised Pampa Energia from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st.

Pampa Energia Trading Down 2.9%

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $75.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.88. The company has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.44 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Pampa Energia (NYSE:PAM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.89. The company had revenue of $414.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $487.63 million. Pampa Energia had a net margin of 26.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%. On average, analysts expect that Pampa Energia S.A. will post 9.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pampa Energia

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Pampa Energia by 167.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 423,154 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,212,000 after acquiring an additional 264,706 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its stake in Pampa Energia by 1,122.0% in the first quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 213,674 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $16,067,000 after purchasing an additional 196,188 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Pampa Energia by 58.7% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 508,375 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $44,706,000 after purchasing an additional 188,114 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Pampa Energia by 7,143.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 178,486 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $13,779,000 after purchasing an additional 176,022 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TT International Asset Management LTD grew its stake in Pampa Energia by 9.4% in the first quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 1,319,537 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $101,868,000 after purchasing an additional 112,934 shares in the last quarter. 12.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.