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

Key Points

• Pacific Gas & Electric experienced a significant surge in options trading, with 159,389 call options acquired, marking a 382% increase from the typical volume of 33,074.
• The company recently reported earnings per share of $0.33, which missed analysts' expectations, alongside revenues of $5.98 billion, falling short of the consensus estimate of $6.23 billion.
• Pacific Gas & Electric also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.025, equating to an annualized yield of 0.71% with a payout ratio of 9.17%.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders acquired 159,389 call options on the company. This is an increase of 382% compared to the typical volume of 33,074 call options.

Pacific Gas & Electric Trading Up 1.7%

PCG stock opened at $14.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $37.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.92, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.55. Pacific Gas & Electric has a twelve month low of $12.97 and a twelve month high of $21.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. The business has a fifty day moving average of $14.71 and a 200-day moving average of $15.96.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $5.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.23 billion. Pacific Gas & Electric had a return on equity of 10.35% and a net margin of 9.81%. The company's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pacific Gas & Electric will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Pacific Gas & Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pacific Gas & Electric

In other news, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 32,519 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.30, for a total transaction of $562,578.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 151,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,614,306.80. This trade represents a 17.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 45.0% in the first quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 2,173 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 674 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,066 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 772 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 1.9% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 42,747 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $738,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. grew its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 4,271 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 825 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 2.4% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 38,625 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $664,000 after buying an additional 887 shares during the period. 78.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PCG shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Pacific Gas & Electric from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays lowered their target price on Pacific Gas & Electric from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Guggenheim raised their target price on Pacific Gas & Electric from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Pacific Gas & Electric from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.55.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company Profile

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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