PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) Shares Bought by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) by 3.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 293,977 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,061 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in PG&E were worth $5,812,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in PG&E in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of PG&E by 84.7% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,011 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of PG&E by 77.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in PG&E during the second quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in PG&E by 243.0% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 4,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 2,863 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

PG&E Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE PCG opened at $19.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $20.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.26. PG&E Co. has a 12-month low of $15.94 and a 12-month high of $21.72. The company has a market capitalization of $51.65 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.01.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.05. PG&E had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 11.11%. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.24 EPS. PG&E’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. This is a positive change from PG&E’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio is 7.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on PCG. UBS Group boosted their target price on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of PG&E in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of PG&E in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total transaction of $1,147,766.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,460,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,168,186.52. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.