Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 247,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,723 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in PG&E were worth $4,456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in PG&E by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 27,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 3,299 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its position in PG&E by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 7,598,807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $137,009,000 after acquiring an additional 446,848 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in PG&E by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,987,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,057,000 after acquiring an additional 162,476 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in PG&E by 78.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 654,687 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,036,000 after acquiring an additional 288,280 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in PG&E by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 881,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,226,000 after acquiring an additional 66,364 shares during the period. 78.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PG&E Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PCG opened at $16.85 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $16.51 and a 200 day moving average of $16.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04 and a beta of 1.32. PG&E Co. has a 12-month low of $14.71 and a 12-month high of $18.32.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.43 billion. PG&E had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 10.84%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that PG&E Co. will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of PG&E in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of PG&E from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of PG&E from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.78.

PG&E Profile

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.