Pacific Gas & Electric Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:PCG)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity hit Pacific Gas & Electric, with investors buying 76,705 call options on Wednesday — about 131% above its average daily volume.
• Insiders have been selling shares, including Director Kerry Whorton Cooper and EVP Carla J. Peterman, with total insider sales reaching 81,550 shares worth about $1.4 million over the past 90 days.
• Analysts remain cautiously positive: PCG has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.10, while the stock recently traded around $16.90 after rising 2.0%.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 76,705 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 131% compared to the average daily volume of 33,237 call options.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kerry Whorton Cooper sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.68, for a total value of $46,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 73,141 shares in the company, valued at $1,366,273.88. This represents a 3.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 31,786 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.31, for a total value of $582,001.66. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 195,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,572,116.21. This trade represents a 14.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 81,550 shares of company stock worth $1,401,468 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Pacific Gas & Electric by 5.9% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 41,792 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $734,000 after buying an additional 2,313 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Pacific Gas & Electric by 17.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 89,298 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,569,000 after buying an additional 13,478 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Pacific Gas & Electric during the first quarter valued at $246,000. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Pacific Gas & Electric during the first quarter valued at $383,000. Finally, Harrison Street Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Pacific Gas & Electric during the first quarter valued at $3,643,000. 78.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PCG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $22.00 target price on Pacific Gas & Electric in a report on Thursday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Pacific Gas & Electric from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings raised Pacific Gas & Electric from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. UBS Group raised Pacific Gas & Electric from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Pacific Gas & Electric from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pacific Gas & Electric currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.10.

Pacific Gas & Electric Stock Up 2.0%

NYSE:PCG traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $16.90. 16,400,354 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,789,705. The firm has a market cap of $45.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.27. Pacific Gas & Electric has a twelve month low of $12.97 and a twelve month high of $19.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.20. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $16.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.64.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.20 billion. Pacific Gas & Electric had a return on equity of 11.95% and a net margin of 11.44%.Pacific Gas & Electric's quarterly revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. Pacific Gas & Electric has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.640-1.660 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Pacific Gas & Electric will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Pacific Gas & Electric's payout ratio is presently 15.50%.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company Profile

Pacific Gas & Electric NYSE: PCG is an investor-owned utility holding company whose principal operating subsidiary, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, provides electricity and natural gas service in northern and central California. The company's core activities include the generation, procurement, transmission and distribution of electric power, as well as the transmission and distribution of natural gas. PG&E serves a broad mix of residential, commercial, and industrial customers across urban and rural communities within its California service territory.

PG&E's operations encompass utility infrastructure planning and construction, grid operations, customer service and energy procurement.

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