Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Makes New $18.90 Million Investment in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 955,860 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $18,897,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in PG&E during the second quarter worth about $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of PG&E by 84.7% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,011 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in PG&E by 77.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of PG&E during the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of PG&E by 243.0% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 4,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 2,863 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

PG&E Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PCG opened at $20.33 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $53.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.88, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.01. PG&E Co. has a 12 month low of $15.94 and a 12 month high of $21.72.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.05. PG&E had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 11.11%. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.24 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that PG&E Co. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.025 per share. This is a positive change from PG&E’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.13%.

Insider Transactions at PG&E

In related news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of PG&E stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total value of $1,147,766.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,460,222 shares in the company, valued at $30,168,186.52. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on PCG. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on PG&E in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America started coverage on PG&E in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on PG&E from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.10.

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.