Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on PG&E (NYSE:PCG)

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 24,380 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 189% compared to the typical volume of 8,426 put options.

PG&E Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:PCG opened at $20.85 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $20.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.17. The company has a market cap of $54.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. PG&E has a 1 year low of $15.94 and a 1 year high of $21.72.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.05. PG&E had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 12.51%. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.24 earnings per share. PG&E’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that PG&E will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

PG&E Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued 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 dividend yield of 0.48%. PG&E’s payout ratio is presently 3.13%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total value of $1,147,766.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,460,222 shares in the company, valued at $30,168,186.52. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PG&E

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PG&E in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of PG&E by 84.7% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of PG&E by 77.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,027 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of PG&E during the second quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position 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 valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179 shares during the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PCG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group raised their target price on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on PG&E in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on PG&E in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PG&E currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.10.

PG&E Company 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.