Bridgewater Associates LP Lowers Holdings in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)

Bridgewater Associates LP cut its stake in shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,372,691 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 67,323 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.05% of PG&E worth $27,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. King Street Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in PG&E in the second quarter valued at about $1,964,250,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in PG&E by 17.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 101,910,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,779,352,000 after buying an additional 14,998,472 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in PG&E by 5.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 176,839,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,496,115,000 after buying an additional 8,604,396 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new position in PG&E during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $56,679,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of PG&E by 2,850.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,946,520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,986,000 after acquiring an additional 1,880,542 shares in the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PG&E Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PCG opened at $21.63 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $56.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.03. 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 1 year low of $15.94 and a 1 year high of $21.72. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.09.

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

PG&E Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio is 3.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on PCG. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of PG&E in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PG&E currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.10.

PG&E Company 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.