Zacks Research Upgrades Pampa Energia (NYSE:PAM) to "Hold"

Key Points

• Pampa Energia's stock rating was upgraded from "strong sell" to "hold" by Zacks Research, indicating a more favorable outlook for the company.
• Citigroup has raised its price target for Pampa Energia from $88.00 to $92.00, while Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock to a "buy" rating, reflecting increased analyst confidence.
• The company recently reported an earnings miss, with EPS of $0.70 against a consensus estimate of $2.35, raising concerns despite the stock's recent upgrades.

Pampa Energia (NYSE:PAM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Pampa Energia from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Pampa Energia from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $85.83.

Pampa Energia Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PAM traded down $0.9130 on Monday, hitting $70.3070. The company had a trading volume of 422,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 250,394. Pampa Energia has a 1-year low of $50.44 and a 1-year high of $97.55. The stock has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $72.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.70, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pampa Energia

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pampa Energia in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Advisors Preferred LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pampa Energia by 158.9% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 730 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pampa Energia in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Compass Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pampa Energia in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $152,000. Finally, Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pampa Energia in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $186,000. 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.