Zimmer Partners LP Increases Stake in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)

Zimmer Partners LP raised its stake in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) by 84.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,661,324 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,814,624 shares during the quarter. PG&E comprises approximately 4.4% of Zimmer Partners LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Zimmer Partners LP owned 0.48% of PG&E worth $255,506,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its position in shares of PG&E by 272.5% in the fourth quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 3,560,305 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,847,000 after purchasing an additional 2,604,445 shares in the last quarter. Vennlight Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of PG&E in the fourth quarter worth $7,465,000. Vident Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of PG&E in the fourth quarter worth $261,000. Wexford Capital LP lifted its position in shares of PG&E by 55.5% in the fourth quarter. Wexford Capital LP now owns 252,249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,090,000 after purchasing an additional 90,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of PG&E by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 58,203 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,175,000 after purchasing an additional 2,265 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PG&E news, Director Arno Lockheart Harris bought 6,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.66 per share, for a total transaction of $100,051.74. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $232,770.24. This trade represents a 75.39% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 32,519 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.30, for a total transaction of $562,578.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 151,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,614,306.80. The trade was a 17.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on PCG shares. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of PG&E in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating on shares of PG&E in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of PG&E from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of PG&E from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of PG&E from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.71.

PG&E Price Performance

NYSE:PCG opened at $17.73 on Tuesday. PG&E Co. has a one year low of $14.99 and a one year high of $21.72. The company has a market cap of $47.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $17.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.02). PG&E had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The company had revenue of $5.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. PG&E’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that PG&E Co. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

PG&E Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. PG&E’s payout ratio is presently 9.17%.

PG&E Profile

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.