Traders Purchase Large Volume of PG&E Call Options (NYSE:PCG)

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 35,716 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 319% compared to the average daily volume of 8,523 call options.

PG&E Price Performance

PCG stock opened at $19.88 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.23. PG&E has a 12-month low of $15.94 and a 12-month high of $21.72. The firm has a market cap of $51.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.53, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.01.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 EPS 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 company earned $0.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that PG&E will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

PG&E Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. This is a positive change from PG&E’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. PG&E’s payout ratio is currently 7.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PCG. 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. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of PG&E in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at PG&E

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,460,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,168,186.52. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PG&E during the first quarter valued at about $503,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in PG&E by 53.1% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 39,006 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $681,000 after acquiring an additional 13,524 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in PG&E by 8.4% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 34,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $610,000 after acquiring an additional 2,711 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in PG&E by 15.2% in the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 17,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 2,364 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of PG&E by 65.3% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 57,054 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $996,000 after acquiring an additional 22,548 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

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.