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PG&E Corp. (PCG) to Report Q4 Earnings: What's in the Cards?

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Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PCG - Free Report) , also known as PG&E Corporation, is set to report fourth-quarter 2020 results on Feb 25, before market open. In the last reported quarter, the company delivered a negative earnings surprise of 12%.

In the trailing four quarters, Pacific Gas & Electric came up with an earnings surprise of 4.65%, on average.

Let’s discuss the factors that are likely to get reflected in the upcoming quarterly results.

Factors to Consider

During most part of the fourth quarter, major parts of the company’s service territories, including California, experienced warmer-than-normal temperatures. In particular, during October and November, California ranked the warmest on record for maximum temperatures. This indicates a decrease in demand for electricity, which is likely to have impacted Pacific Gas & Electric’s top line in the fourth quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter revenues is pegged at $4.68 billion, indicating a 1.4% decline from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

At the tail end of October, a number of snowstorms affected the Mid-Atlantic U.S., within which some of Pacific Gas & Electric’s service territories fall. Furthermore, wide parts of California were affected by storms and wildfires during the fourth quarter. This is likely to have caused some electricity outages for the company’s customers as well as structural damages to electric poles. This might have also driven storm restoration-related expenses for PG&E Corp, thereby hurting its quarterly earnings performance.

Moreover, we expect the company to have experienced higher uncollectible costs as well as incremental operating costs due to the pandemic in the fourth quarter. This might have also hampered its bottom line in the soon-to-be-reported quarter.

For the fourth quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings per share is pegged at 19 cents, which indicates a 72.1% decline from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for Pacific Gas & Electric this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat.

Earnings ESP: Pacific Gas & Electric has an Earnings ESP of +10.53%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: The company carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. Price and EPS Surprise

Other Stocks to Consider

Here are a few more stocks from the Utilities sector that are yet to release their Q4 results and possess the right combination to deliver an earnings beat.

CenterPoint Energy (CNP - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +11.11% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Sempra Energy (SRE - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +6.87% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Exelon Corporation (EXC - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +2.34% and a Zacks Rank #3.

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