In the latest trading session, PG&E (PCG) closed at $24.40, marking a +1.88% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500’s 3.43% gain on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 3.29%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 4.26%.
Prior to today’s trading, shares of the utility holding company had lost 7.99% over the past month. This has lagged the Utilities sector’s loss of 5.39% and was narrower than the S&P 500’s loss of 12.15% in that time.
PCG will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be February 8, 2019. On that day, PCG is projected to report earnings of $0.63 per share, which would represent no growth from the year-ago period. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $4.31 billion, up 5.1% from the year-ago period.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for PCG should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company’s business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.54% lower. PCG currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note PCG’s current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 6. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 17.58, which means PCG is trading at a discount to the group.
Investors should also note that PCG has a PEG ratio of 1.71 right now. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company’s expected earnings growth rate. Utility – Electric Power stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 3.11 based on yesterday’s closing prices.
The Utility – Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 106, putting it in the top 41% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. 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.
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