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

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 45,852 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 505% compared to the typical volume of 7,579 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PCG. StockNews.com raised PG&E from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on PG&E in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on PG&E from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on PG&E from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.89.

PG&E Price Performance

PCG stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $17.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,773,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,542,835. The company’s fifty day moving average is $16.55 and its 200-day moving average is $16.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04. PG&E has a 1 year low of $14.71 and a 1 year high of $18.32. The company has a market capitalization of $36.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.15 and a beta of 1.32.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.43 billion. PG&E had a return on equity of 10.84% and a net margin of 9.24%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that PG&E will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.23%. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in shares of PG&E by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 27,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 3,299 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its position in shares of PG&E by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 7,598,807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $137,009,000 after purchasing an additional 446,848 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in PG&E by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 922,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,639,000 after acquiring an additional 76,178 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PG&E by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,987,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,057,000 after buying an additional 162,476 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of PG&E by 78.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 654,687 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,036,000 after purchasing an additional 288,280 shares during the period. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.