Forest Avenue Capital Management LP Increases Position in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)

Forest Avenue Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) by 56.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,577,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 570,250 shares during the quarter. PG&E makes up about 3.8% of Forest Avenue Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP’s holdings in PG&E were worth $27,551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PCG. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in PG&E in the fourth quarter worth $231,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PG&E by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 13,183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in PG&E by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 59,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,078,000 after buying an additional 1,838 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its stake in PG&E by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 19,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 3,567 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in PG&E by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 70,077 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after buying an additional 11,094 shares in the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PG&E Stock Performance

PCG stock opened at $20.08 on Friday. PG&E Co. has a one year low of $14.71 and a one year high of $20.65. The firm has a market cap of $57.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.86.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.01. PG&E had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 11.76%. The company had revenue of $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. PG&E’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that PG&E Co. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.20%. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.57%.

Insider Activity at PG&E

In related news, VP Stephanie N. Williams sold 38,601 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.32, for a total value of $707,170.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $350,168.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on PG&E from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on PG&E from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America began coverage on PG&E in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of PG&E from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PG&E presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.45.

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.