3,246,216 Shares in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) Acquired by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,246,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $56,679,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.11% of PG&E at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. King Street Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of PG&E in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,964,250,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of PG&E by 17.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 101,910,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,779,352,000 after purchasing an additional 14,998,472 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of PG&E in the fourth quarter worth about $142,612,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PG&E by 2.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 282,332,215 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,731,888,000 after purchasing an additional 5,635,693 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in PG&E by 534.4% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,314,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $113,852,000 after buying an additional 5,319,289 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PCG. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on PG&E from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. 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 note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised PG&E from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.55.

PG&E Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PCG opened at $19.92 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.01. PG&E Co. has a 52 week low of $14.71 and a 52 week high of $20.65. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $5.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.86 billion. PG&E had a return on equity of 11.76% and a net margin of 10.22%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that PG&E Co. will post 1.36 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.20%. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Stephanie N. Williams sold 38,601 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.32, for a total value of $707,170.32. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $350,168.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

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.