PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Increases Stake in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) by 15.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 91,289 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,226 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in PG&E were worth $1,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of PG&E during the 3rd quarter valued at $855,000. Caprock Group LLC grew its position in PG&E by 8.7% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 26,654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 2,129 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in PG&E by 9.6% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 117,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,326,000 after acquiring an additional 10,276 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of PG&E by 28.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 619,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,250,000 after purchasing an additional 137,271 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in shares of PG&E by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 6,026,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $119,140,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

PG&E Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PCG opened at $21.51 on Wednesday. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $15.94 and a fifty-two week high of $21.56. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.04. The firm has a market cap of $56.25 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.03.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that PG&E Co. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.19%. PG&E’s payout ratio is 3.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PCG. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on PG&E in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on PG&E in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.80.

About PG&E

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.