Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Boosts Holdings in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its stake in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) by 91.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,027,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,920,734 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned approximately 0.15% of PG&E worth $79,622,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its stake in PG&E by 5.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 176,839,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,496,115,000 after purchasing an additional 8,604,396 shares during the last quarter. King Street Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of PG&E in the second quarter valued at $1,964,250,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of PG&E by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 108,953,808 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,155,093,000 after buying an additional 5,191,463 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of PG&E by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 104,846,953 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,072,824,000 after acquiring an additional 2,936,763 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in PG&E by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 30,255,039 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $598,142,000 after acquiring an additional 1,822,835 shares during the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PCG shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of PG&E in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on PG&E from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on PG&E in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.10.

PG&E Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PCG opened at $20.33 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.21. PG&E Co. has a twelve month low of $15.94 and a twelve month high of $21.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.05. PG&E had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 12.51%. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. PG&E’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PG&E Co. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from PG&E’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PG&E

In other news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total value of $1,147,766.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,460,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,168,186.52. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

PG&E Company Profile

PG&E Corporation, through its subsidiary, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, engages in the sale and delivery of electricity and natural gas to customers in northern and central California, the United States. It generates electricity using nuclear, hydroelectric, fossil fuel-fired, fuel cell, and photovoltaic sources.