William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. Makes New Investment in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)

William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 4,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $74,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in PG&E during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of PG&E by 84.7% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares in the last quarter. Vima LLC purchased a new stake in PG&E during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in PG&E by 77.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in PG&E in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Stephanie N. Williams sold 38,601 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.32, for a total transaction of $707,170.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $350,168.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

PG&E Stock Performance

Shares of PCG stock opened at $19.82 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. PG&E Co. has a 52 week low of $14.71 and a 52 week high of $20.65. The company has a market cap of $57.07 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.01.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.01. PG&E had a return on equity of 11.76% and a net margin of 10.22%. The company had revenue of $5.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PG&E Co. will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

PG&E Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on PCG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded PG&E from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $19.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, June 10th. UBS Group increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on PG&E from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. 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. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of PG&E from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PG&E presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.55.

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.