Traders Purchase Large Volume of PG&E Put Options (NYSE:PCG)

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 21,058 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 146% compared to the average volume of 8,557 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PCG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America began coverage on PG&E in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of PG&E in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of PG&E from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of PG&E from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PG&E has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.80.

Insider Activity at PG&E

In other news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total value of $1,147,766.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,460,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,168,186.52. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PG&E

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of PG&E by 68.3% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in PG&E in the second quarter worth about $44,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in PG&E by 77.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PG&E during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of PG&E by 98.5% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 2,154 shares in the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PG&E Price Performance

NYSE:PCG traded down $0.80 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $19.18. 10,333,048 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,188,513. The firm has a market cap of $50.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.48. PG&E has a 52 week low of $15.94 and a 52 week high of $21.72.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.58 billion. PG&E had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 11.11%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that PG&E will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.025 per share. This is a positive change from PG&E’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.81%.

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.