Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Acquires 203,096 Shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG - Free Report) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,029,999 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 203,096 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.27% of PG&E worth $141,865,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Clearline Capital LP purchased a new stake in PG&E during the fourth quarter worth about $933,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main purchased a new stake in PG&E during the fourth quarter worth about $258,000. Eagle Global Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in PG&E by 398.3% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Global Advisors LLC now owns 547,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,046,000 after buying an additional 437,539 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its holdings in PG&E by 563.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,916 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crestline Management LP boosted its holdings in PG&E by 195.6% during the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 400,140 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,075,000 after buying an additional 264,790 shares in the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PG&E Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:PCG traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $17.11. The company had a trading volume of 17,180,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,529,287. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.05. PG&E Co. has a 1-year low of $14.99 and a 1-year high of $21.72. The firm has a market cap of $45.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.01.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $5.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.23 billion. PG&E had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 10.94%. PG&E's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. Research analysts predict that PG&E Co. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

PG&E Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. PG&E's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PCG shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on PG&E from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating on shares of PG&E in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group cut PG&E from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on PG&E from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on PG&E from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PG&E has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.13.

Insider Transactions at PG&E

In related news, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 32,521 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 15.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arno Lockheart Harris purchased 6,389 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.66 per share, with a total value of $100,051.74. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 14,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $232,770.24. This represents a 75.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.