PG&E Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:PCG)

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 51,272 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 131% compared to the typical daily volume of 22,182 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on PG&E from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays dropped their price target on PG&E from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $18.00 price target on PG&E and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of PG&E in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on PG&E from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.75.

PG&E Stock Performance

Shares of PCG opened at $14.38 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.00. PG&E has a 1 year low of $14.01 and a 1 year high of $21.72. The firm has a market cap of $38.48 billion, a PE ratio of 12.51, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $16.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.41.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.02). PG&E had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The company had revenue of $5.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PG&E will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

PG&E Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. PG&E’s payout ratio is 9.17%.

Insider Activity at PG&E

In related news, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 32,519 shares of PG&E stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.30, for a total transaction of $562,578.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 151,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,614,306.80. This trade represents a 17.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of PG&E

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PCG. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in shares of PG&E during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in PG&E by 1,233.6% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 1,690 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position in PG&E by 45.0% during the first quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 2,173 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its position in PG&E by 563.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in PG&E during the first quarter worth about $39,000. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PG&E Company Profile

PG&E Corp. operates as a holding company, which engages in generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity and natural gas to customers. It specializes in energy, utility, power, gas, electricity, solar and sustainability. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Oakland, CA.