Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) EVP Sells $820,926.00 in Stock

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) EVP John Simon sold 45,607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $820,926.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 392,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,061,454. This trade represents a 10.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Pacific Gas & Electric Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE PCG traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $18.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 20,969,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,922,998. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.32, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.36. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. has a fifty-two week low of $12.97 and a fifty-two week high of $18.38.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.36. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.05 billion. Pacific Gas & Electric had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 11.28%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Pacific Gas & Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. Pacific Gas & Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 16.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Gas & Electric

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 510.0% during the second 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 lifted its holdings in 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 worth $819,447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676,093 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 4.4% in 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 period. Finally, Strs Ohio boosted its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 23.6% in the 2nd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 1,174,404 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,371,000 after purchasing an additional 223,904 shares during the period. 78.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on PCG shares. Mizuho set a $21.00 price target on Pacific Gas & Electric in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Pacific Gas & Electric from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.73.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company Profile

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.