PG&E (PCG) closed at $15.23 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.3% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.3% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.46%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.08%.
Heading into today, shares of the utility holding company had gained 123.3% over the past month, outpacing the Utilities sector's gain of 4.14% and the S&P 500's gain of 5.93% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from PCG as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be February 28, 2019. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.62, down 1.59% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $4.29 billion, up 4.51% from the prior-year quarter.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for PCG should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.21% lower. PCG is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
In terms of valuation, PCG is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 3.88. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 18.54.
It is also worth noting that PCG currently has a PEG ratio of 1.37. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. PCG's industry had an average PEG ratio of 3.36 as of yesterday's close.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 84, which puts it in the top 33% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG
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