O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) by 18.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 74,164 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,411 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in PG&E were worth $1,497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PCG. ClearBridge Investments Ltd lifted its position in PG&E by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd now owns 7,481,722 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $150,981,000 after acquiring an additional 680,916 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PG&E by 28.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,538 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of PG&E by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 6,843,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $138,101,000 after buying an additional 136,825 shares during the last quarter. SCP Investment LP bought a new stake in PG&E in the 4th quarter worth about $783,000. Finally, Hartree Partners LP purchased a new position in PG&E in the 4th quarter worth about $2,018,000. Institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at PG&E

In related news, Director Arno Lockheart Harris acquired 6,389 shares of PG&E stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.66 per share, for a total transaction of $100,051.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $232,770.24. This represents a 75.39 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 32,521 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.37, for a total transaction of $532,368.77. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 183,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,006,104.95. This represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

PG&E Trading Down 4.6 %

PG&E stock opened at $16.46 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. PG&E Co. has a 12-month low of $14.99 and a 12-month high of $21.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $16.25 and a 200 day moving average of $18.58.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The firm had revenue of $6.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.29 billion. PG&E had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 10.94%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that PG&E Co. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.025 per share. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PCG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim lowered shares of PG&E from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on PG&E from $16.50 to $17.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of PG&E in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on PG&E from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PG&E has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.05.

About PG&E

PG&E Corp. operates as a holding company, which engages in generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity and natural gas to customers. It specializes in energy, utility, power, gas, electricity, solar and sustainability. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Oakland, CA.