MQS Management LLC Makes New Investment in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 25,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $510,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in PG&E by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 65,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,101,000 after buying an additional 5,914 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in PG&E by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 16,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 2,982 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in PG&E by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 2,170 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PG&E by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 36,529 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of PG&E by 19.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,486,117 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,667,000 after buying an additional 410,409 shares during the period. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PCG has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on PG&E in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on PG&E from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PG&E has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.80.

PG&E Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE PCG opened at $21.28 on Thursday. PG&E Co. has a 12-month low of $15.94 and a 12-month high of $21.51. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The company has a market cap of $55.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.24 earnings per share. PG&E’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that PG&E Co. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.19%. PG&E’s payout ratio is currently 3.13%.

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.