Pacific Gas & Electric Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:PCG)

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock traders acquired 137,781 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 210% compared to the average volume of 44,462 call options.

Pacific Gas & Electric Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE PCG traded up $0.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $17.46. 11,460,893 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,378,217. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $17.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.28. Pacific Gas & Electric has a 12-month low of $14.30 and a 12-month high of $19.16.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.04. Pacific Gas & Electric had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $5.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. Pacific Gas & Electric’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Pacific Gas & Electric has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.640-1.660 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pacific Gas & Electric will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Pacific Gas & Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PCG shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pacific Gas & Electric

In other news, EVP Marlene Santos sold 158,250 shares of Pacific Gas & Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $2,848,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 230,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,155,930. The trade was a 40.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PCG. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in the fourth quarter worth $1,898,000. Harrison Street Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in the first quarter valued at $3,643,000. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Pacific Gas & Electric by 69.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 164,784 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,648,000 after purchasing an additional 67,677 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 62,134,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,019,297,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 366.6% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,984,809 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,443,000 after purchasing an additional 2,345,120 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

About Pacific Gas & Electric

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE: PCG) is an investor-owned utility holding company whose principal operating subsidiary, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, provides electricity and natural gas service in northern and central California. The company’s core activities include the generation, procurement, transmission and distribution of electric power, as well as the transmission and distribution of natural gas. PG&E serves a broad mix of residential, commercial, and industrial customers across urban and rural communities within its California service territory.

PG&E’s operations encompass utility infrastructure planning and construction, grid operations, customer service and energy procurement.