Zacks Research Downgrades Pampa Energia (NYSE:PAM) to Hold

Pampa Energia (NYSE:PAM) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on PAM. HSBC upgraded shares of Pampa Energia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $88.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pampa Energia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Pampa Energia currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.00.

Pampa Energia Price Performance

PAM stock opened at $85.62 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.51 and a 200-day moving average of $84.54. Pampa Energia has a 12-month low of $54.95 and a 12-month high of $94.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.97.

Pampa Energia (NYSE:PAM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The utilities provider reported $4.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Pampa Energia had a net margin of 20.31% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The company had revenue of $573.00 million during the quarter. As a group, equities analysts expect that Pampa Energia will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Pampa Energia

In related news, Director Marcos Marcelo Mindlin sold 1,800,000 shares of Pampa Energia stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.48, for a total transaction of $6,264,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 24,971,973 shares in the company, valued at $86,902,466.04. The trade was a 6.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Damian Miguel Mindlin sold 500,000 shares of Pampa Energia stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.57, for a total value of $1,785,000.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 9,311,977 shares of company stock valued at $32,265,316 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 55.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in Pampa Energia by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 16,531 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Pampa Energia by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 3,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Pampa Energia in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Titan Global Capital Management USA LLC raised its holdings in Pampa Energia by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Titan Global Capital Management USA LLC now owns 13,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Pampa Energia in the 4th quarter valued at $104,000. 12.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pampa Energia Company Profile

Pampa Energía SA is Argentina’s largest independent energy company, with integrated operations spanning electricity generation, transmission, distribution and oil and gas activities. The company holds a diversified portfolio of thermal and hydroelectric power plants, along with growing investments in renewable energy projects, serving both domestic and regional markets.

In its electricity business, Pampa Energía develops and operates plants that supply energy to Argentina’s power grid.