Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc Sells 12,500 Shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)

Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc lessened its stake in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 12,500 shares during the quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in PG&E were worth $1,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PCG. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in PG&E by 68.3% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in PG&E during the second quarter worth $44,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in PG&E during the second quarter worth $74,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in PG&E by 77.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in PG&E by 98.5% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 2,154 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

PG&E Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PCG traded down $0.67 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $16.50. The company had a trading volume of 31,962,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,942,455. The company has a market capitalization of $43.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.98. PG&E Co. has a 1 year low of $15.94 and a 1 year 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $20.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.50.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.58 billion. PG&E had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 11.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.24 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PG&E Co. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

PG&E Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.025 per share. This is a positive change from PG&E’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.81%.

Insider Activity at PG&E

In related news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of PG&E stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total transaction of $1,147,766.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,460,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,168,186.52. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on PG&E in a report on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group decreased their target price on PG&E from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho raised their target price on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on PG&E in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.64.

PG&E 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.