Stock Traders Buy 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 investors purchased 45,852 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 505% compared to the average daily volume of 7,579 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PG&E

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PCG. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in PG&E during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its position in PG&E by 470.6% during the third quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 2,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 2,014 shares during the period. Vima LLC purchased a new stake in PG&E during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in PG&E during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new stake in PG&E during the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

PG&E Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PCG opened at $17.00 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $36.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.19 and a beta of 1.32. 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 52 week low of $14.71 and a 52 week high of $18.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.88.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $7.04 billion during 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 in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that PG&E will post 1.35 EPS for the current year.

PG&E Announces Dividend

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

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.