KBC Group NV Boosts Stake in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)

KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) by 199.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 432,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 287,975 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in PG&E were worth $8,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in PG&E by 3.5% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of PG&E by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 22,458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd grew its position in shares of PG&E by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 4,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in PG&E by 14.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in PG&E by 9.8% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 11,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009 shares during the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PG&E Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PCG opened at $21.04 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. PG&E Co. has a twelve month low of $15.94 and a twelve month high of $21.51. The company’s 50 day moving average is $20.12 and its 200 day moving average is $18.87. The company has a market cap of $55.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.03.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.58 billion. PG&E had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 12.51%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PG&E Co. will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

PG&E Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.19%. PG&E’s payout ratio is 3.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on PG&E from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays upped their target price on PG&E from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America started coverage on PG&E in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.80.

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.