Traders Buy High Volume of Pacific Gas & Electric Call Options (NYSE:PCG)

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 31,848 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 72% compared to the typical volume of 18,466 call options.

Pacific Gas & Electric Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE:PCG traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $18.75. 8,904,495 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,234,432. The company has a fifty day moving average of $17.66 and a 200 day moving average of $16.45. Pacific Gas & Electric has a 12 month low of $12.97 and a 12 month high of $19.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.34.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. Pacific Gas & Electric had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 11.28%. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Pacific Gas & Electric will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Pacific Gas & Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 16.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PCG. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group raised shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $19.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Pacific Gas & Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Pacific Gas & Electric from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pacific Gas & Electric news, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 31,786 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.31, for a total value of $582,001.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 195,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,572,116.21. The trade was a 14.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Simon sold 45,607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $820,926.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 392,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,061,454. This represents a 10.41% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 84,286 shares of company stock valued at $1,528,746 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Pacific Gas & Electric in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Pacific Gas & Electric by 826.2% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,735 shares in the last quarter. Tobam bought a new position in Pacific Gas & Electric in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Pacific Gas & Electric in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in Pacific Gas & Electric by 3,240.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301 shares in the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.