Renaissance Technologies LLC Takes $2.57 Million Position in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)

Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 146,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,565,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in PG&E by 36.6% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 79,017 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,425,000 after purchasing an additional 21,165 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of PG&E by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 782,005 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,100,000 after buying an additional 68,963 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of PG&E by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 307,977 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,553,000 after acquiring an additional 9,381 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of PG&E by 40.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 114,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,067,000 after acquiring an additional 33,163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in PG&E by 84.9% in the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 30,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 13,914 shares during the period. 78.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on PCG shares. Bank of America began coverage on shares of PG&E in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group raised their price objective on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays upped their target price on PG&E from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of PG&E from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.55.

PG&E Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of PCG opened at $19.84 on Wednesday. PG&E Co. has a 12 month low of $14.71 and a 12 month high of $20.65. The stock has a market cap of $57.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $19.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.01. PG&E had a return on equity of 11.76% and a net margin of 10.22%. The firm had revenue of $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that PG&E Co. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.20%. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Stephanie N. Williams sold 38,601 shares of PG&E stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.32, for a total value of $707,170.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,114 shares in the company, valued at $350,168.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

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.