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

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 95,469 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 671% compared to the average daily volume of 12,386 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at PG&E

In other news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total transaction 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 $30,168,186.52. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PG&E

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in PG&E by 68.3% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank increased its stake in shares of PG&E by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 47,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $930,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of PG&E by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in PG&E by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 7,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in PG&E by 2.6% during the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

PG&E Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of PG&E stock traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $16.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 19,300,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 34,707,973. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.13 and a 200 day moving average of $19.47. 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 current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $44.37 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.98.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.58 billion. PG&E had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 11.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.24 EPS. Analysts predict 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 was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.025 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. This is a boost from PG&E’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised 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. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PG&E in a research note on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $21.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of PG&E in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Mizuho increased their price target on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on PG&E from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.64.

About PG&E

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.