MetLife Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)

MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 555,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 14,223 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in PG&E were worth $10,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PCG. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in PG&E during the second quarter valued at $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of PG&E by 84.7% during 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 during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of PG&E by 77.0% during 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 during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in PG&E in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in PG&E by 48.8% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 3,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,179 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

PG&E Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE PCG opened at $21.63 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.03. PG&E Co. has a 12-month low of $15.94 and a 12-month high of $21.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $20.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.10.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.05. PG&E had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 11.11%. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. PG&E’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that PG&E Co. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.18%. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PCG. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on 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 initiated coverage on PG&E in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. 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, Barclays boosted their price target on PG&E from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.10.

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.