The largest institutional investors of select publicly traded power companies increased their positions by a median value of 10.4% in the first quarter of 2019, according to an analysis by the S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Most investors on the list scaled back their holdings in PG&E Corp. and increased their positions in Dominion Energy Inc. during the first quarter of 2019.
On Jan. 29, PG&E and its Pacific Gas and Electric Co. subsidiary filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California, citing billions of dollars in potential liabilities from California wildfires.
Meanwhile, Dominion on Jan. 2 announced the closing of its acquisition of SCANA Corp. in a deal valued at more than $14 billion.
Vanguard Group Inc. and BlackRock Inc. remain the two biggest holders of power equity investments.
Vanguard saw a 17.9% quarter-over-quarter increase in power holdings, ending the first quarter of 2019 with approximately $27.03 billion ownership in select power companies.
The investment firm upped its stake in Dominion Energy by about 12.4 million shares to 8.01% of shares outstanding and increased its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. by roughly 5.6 million shares to 8.94% of shares out. Vanguard sold off roughly 9.9 million shares in PG&E to 7.10% of shares outstanding and pared back its equity investment in NRG Energy Inc. by about 2.7 million shares to 12.06% of shares out.
Blackrock raised its holdings by 9% in the first quarter, closing the first quarter with $23.57 billion shares in select power companies.
The asset manager increased its position in NextEra Energy Partners by about 8.3 million shares to 18.54% of shares outstanding, and in Dominion Energy by 8.2 million shares to 6.9% of shares outstanding. Blackrock sold off approximately 30.9 million shares in PG&E to 2.48% of shares outstanding and lowered its holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. by 5.4 million shares to 10.10% of shares outstanding.
State Street Global Advisors Inc. increased its power holdings by 14.3% during the quarter, closing with approximately $15.39 billion shares in select power companies. The asset manager bought about 7.6 million shares in Dominion Energy to 4.91% of shares outstanding and sold off about 19.9 million shares in PG&E to 1.10% of shares outstanding.