Pacific Gas & Electric Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:PCG)

Key Points

• Pacific Gas & Electric saw a significant increase in call options trading, with 160,216 contracts traded, marking a 100% rise from its average volume.
• The company's stock performance improved during midday trading, with shares rising to $15.60, reflecting a trading volume of 16,339,494 shares.
• Pacific Gas & Electric announced a quarterly dividend of $0.025, with an annualized yield of 0.6%, set to be paid on October 15th.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 160,216 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 100% compared to the average volume of 80,041 call options.

Pacific Gas & Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PCG traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $15.60. 16,339,494 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,767,002. Pacific Gas & Electric has a twelve month low of $12.97 and a twelve month high of $21.72. The firm has a market cap of $41.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.31, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.56.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.02). Pacific Gas & Electric had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 10.13%. The firm had revenue of $5.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Pacific Gas & Electric has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.480-1.520 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Pacific Gas & Electric will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Pacific Gas & Electric's dividend payout ratio is 9.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PCG shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $20.00 to $19.50 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Argus upgraded shares of Pacific Gas & Electric to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Gas & Electric

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PCG. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Pacific Gas & Electric by 35.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 106,585 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,151,000 after purchasing an additional 27,873 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 124.9% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,470 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 1,927 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 738.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 176,043 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,024,000 after buying an additional 155,052 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 2.4% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 38,625 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $664,000 after buying an additional 887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 1.4% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 4,308,094 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $74,013,000 after buying an additional 59,536 shares during the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Pacific Gas & Electric

PG&E Corp. operates as a holding company, which engages in generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity and natural gas to customers. It specializes in energy, utility, power, gas, electricity, solar and sustainability. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Oakland, CA.

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