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

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 45,852 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 505% compared to the average daily volume of 7,579 call options.

PG&E Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of PCG opened at $17.00 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $16.56 and its 200 day moving average is $16.88. The company has a market capitalization of $36.33 billion, a PE ratio of 16.19 and a beta of 1.32. PG&E has a 12-month low of $14.71 and a 12-month high of $18.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $7.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. Research analysts expect that PG&E will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. PG&E’s payout ratio is 3.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on PG&E from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. 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 research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on PG&E from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.89.

Institutional Trading of PG&E

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new stake in PG&E in the 1st quarter worth approximately $738,000. Gemmer Asset Management LLC increased its stake in PG&E by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC now owns 27,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in PG&E by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 9,275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in PG&E by 74.9% in the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 42,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $718,000 after acquiring an additional 18,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its stake in PG&E by 27.8% in the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 107,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,802,000 after acquiring an additional 23,400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

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.