PG&E Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:PCG)

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 32,729 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 297% compared to the typical volume of 8,251 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PCG. Clear Street Markets LLC purchased a new position in PG&E during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in PG&E during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new stake in PG&E in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in PG&E in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in PG&E by 470.6% in the 3rd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 2,442 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 2,014 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.56% of the company's stock.

PG&E Stock Down 0.9 %

PG&E stock traded down $0.15 during trading on Thursday, hitting $16.56. 10,155,990 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,544,135. The company has a market capitalization of $43.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.77, a PEG ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 1.32. The business's 50 day moving average is $16.54 and its 200 day moving average is $16.85. PG&E has a 52 week low of $14.71 and a 52 week 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $7.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.43 billion. PG&E had a return on equity of 10.84% and a net margin of 9.24%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. Analysts predict that PG&E will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current year.

PG&E Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.24%. PG&E's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PCG shares. Barclays cut their price objective on PG&E from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of PG&E from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.50.

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.