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

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 21,058 put options on the company. This is an increase of 146% compared to the average volume of 8,557 put options.

PG&E Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PCG traded down $0.80 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $19.18. The company had a trading volume of 10,333,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,188,513. PG&E has a 12 month low of $15.94 and a 12 month high of $21.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.48.

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

PG&E Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from PG&E’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PCG shares. Bank of America began coverage on shares of PG&E in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on PG&E from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on PG&E in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of PG&E from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.80.

Insider Transactions at PG&E

In other PG&E news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,460,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,168,186.52. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PG&E

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in PG&E by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 108,953,808 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,155,093,000 after purchasing an additional 5,191,463 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of PG&E by 259.6% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 61,850 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 44,650 shares during the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PG&E in the second quarter worth about $1,122,000. Creative Planning boosted its stake in PG&E by 39.6% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 111,358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,944,000 after buying an additional 31,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its holdings in PG&E by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 435,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,608,000 after buying an additional 28,192 shares in the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About PG&E

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.