Columbus Hill Capital Management L.P. Buys 280,000 Shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)

Columbus Hill Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) by 19.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,749,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 280,000 shares during the period. PG&E makes up approximately 6.9% of Columbus Hill Capital Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Columbus Hill Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in PG&E were worth $35,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in PG&E by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,629,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,066,000 after purchasing an additional 193,516 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of PG&E by 93.4% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,191,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,037,000 after buying an additional 575,365 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of PG&E in the 4th quarter valued at $14,333,000. Prudential PLC lifted its stake in PG&E by 581.7% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 207,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,180,000 after acquiring an additional 176,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors purchased a new position in PG&E during the 4th quarter valued at about $203,000. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PG&E news, Director Arno Lockheart Harris acquired 6,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.66 per share, for a total transaction of $100,051.74. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 14,864 shares in the company, valued at $232,770.24. This trade represents a 75.39 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 32,521 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.37, for a total transaction of $532,368.77. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 183,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,006,104.95. This trade represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PG&E Stock Performance

Shares of PG&E stock opened at $16.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. PG&E Co. has a 52 week low of $14.99 and a 52 week high of $21.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $16.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.58.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.31. PG&E had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The firm had revenue of $6.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.29 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. Research analysts forecast that PG&E Co. will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.025 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PCG. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of PG&E from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of 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. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of PG&E in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Guggenheim lowered PG&E from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on PG&E from $16.50 to $17.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.05.

About PG&E

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.