Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 94,818 Shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 371,311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 94,818 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in PG&E were worth $7,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in PG&E in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in PG&E by 84.7% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,011 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in PG&E by 77.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in PG&E in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in PG&E by 48.8% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 3,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,179 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PCG. Bank of America began coverage on PG&E in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on 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 upped their price objective on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on PG&E from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.80.

PG&E Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PCG opened at $21.19 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $20.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.02. PG&E Co. has a one year low of $15.94 and a one year high of $21.51. The firm has a market cap of $55.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.03.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last released 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 company had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.58 billion. PG&E had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 11.11%. PG&E’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that PG&E Co. will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

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

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.