Russell Investments Group Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in Pacific Gas & Electric Co. $PCG

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has reduced its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 3.3%, now holding approximately $43.69 million worth of shares after selling 86,776 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Prudential PLC and HighTower Advisors LLC, significantly increased their holdings in Pacific Gas & Electric during the same period, reflecting heightened interest in the stock.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.025 per share, resulting in a 0.7% yield, with a dividend payout ratio currently at 9.17%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its position in Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,542,896 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 86,776 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.10% of Pacific Gas & Electric worth $43,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in Pacific Gas & Electric in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 1,233.6% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,690 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in Pacific Gas & Electric by 563.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,916 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,627 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its position in Pacific Gas & Electric by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 2,173 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Pacific Gas & Electric by 198.1% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,050 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PCG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho increased their price target on Pacific Gas & Electric from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Argus raised shares of Pacific Gas & Electric to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $18.00 price target on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Pacific Gas & Electric currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.55.

Pacific Gas & Electric Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of PCG stock traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $15.10. 19,658,199 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,558,871. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The company has a market cap of $40.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.54. The stock's 50 day moving average is $14.10 and its 200-day moving average is $15.74. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. has a fifty-two week low of $12.97 and a fifty-two week high of $21.72.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $5.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. Pacific Gas & Electric had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 10.13%. The business's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. Analysts predict that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Pacific Gas & Electric's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.17%.

About Pacific Gas & Electric

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.