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

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 45,852 call options on the company. This is an increase of 505% compared to the average volume of 7,579 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PG&E from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays cut their price target on PG&E from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on PG&E in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $21.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of PG&E from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.89.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of PG&E by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 17,673 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 1,665 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in PG&E by 470.6% in the third quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 2,442 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 2,014 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in PG&E by 41.0% during the third quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,346 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 5,339 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in PG&E by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 78,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,271,000 after buying an additional 8,369 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of PG&E by 24.0% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 248,475 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,007,000 after buying an additional 48,140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.56% of the company's stock.

PG&E Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PCG traded up $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $17.00. The stock had a trading volume of 9,904,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,624,148. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.19 and a beta of 1.32. PG&E has a 52 week low of $14.71 and a 52 week high of $18.32.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. PG&E had a return on equity of 10.84% and a net margin of 9.24%. The business had revenue of $7.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that PG&E will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

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