SCP Investment LP Acquires Shares of 38,800 PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)

SCP Investment LP bought a new stake in shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 38,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $783,000. PG&E makes up 0.6% of SCP Investment LP’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in PG&E by 68.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of PG&E by 61.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 1,506 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in PG&E by 746.0% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 5,465 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 4,819 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in PG&E during the fourth quarter valued at $111,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in PG&E by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,240 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526 shares in the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PG&E Stock Performance

Shares of PCG opened at $16.98 on Friday. PG&E Co. has a one year low of $14.99 and a one year high of $21.72. The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.21 and a 200 day moving average of $18.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.76, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.04.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.29 billion. PG&E had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 10.94%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PG&E Co. will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.025 per share. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PCG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on PG&E from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of PG&E in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Guggenheim lowered shares of PG&E from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. 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 research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PG&E has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 32,521 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.37, for a total value of $532,368.77. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 183,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,006,104.95. This represents a 15.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Arno Lockheart Harris bought 6,389 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the director now owns 14,864 shares in the company, valued at $232,770.24. This represents a 75.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

PG&E Company Profile

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.