Analysts Set Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) Target Price at $20.55

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.5455.

PCG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Pacific Gas & Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Pacific Gas & Electric from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Mizuho set a $21.00 price objective on Pacific Gas & Electric in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th.

Pacific Gas & Electric Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of PCG stock opened at $17.10 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Pacific Gas & Electric has a 12 month low of $12.97 and a 12 month high of $17.95. The stock has a market cap of $37.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.59.

Pacific Gas & Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Pacific Gas & Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. Pacific Gas & Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Gas & Electric

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 49.9% during the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 947,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,264,000 after acquiring an additional 315,133 shares during the last quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 510.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC now owns 960,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,389,000 after purchasing an additional 803,000 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 58,079,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $819,447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676,093 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 4,497,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,694,000 after purchasing an additional 189,353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio raised its holdings in Pacific Gas & Electric by 23.6% during the 2nd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 1,174,404 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,371,000 after buying an additional 223,904 shares during the period. 78.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Pacific Gas & Electric

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE: PCG) is an investor-owned utility holding company whose principal operating subsidiary, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, provides electricity and natural gas service in northern and central California. The company’s core activities include the generation, procurement, transmission and distribution of electric power, as well as the transmission and distribution of natural gas. PG&E serves a broad mix of residential, commercial, and industrial customers across urban and rural communities within its California service territory.

PG&E’s operations encompass utility infrastructure planning and construction, grid operations, customer service and energy procurement.