Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG)

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors bought 411,710 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,526% compared to the average daily volume of 25,317 call options.

Insider Activity at Pacific Gas & Electric

In related news, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 32,519 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 151,116 shares in the company, valued at $2,614,306.80. This represents a 17.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Gas & Electric

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 55.6% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 77,846 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,337,000 after purchasing an additional 27,832 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 431.2% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,469 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 2,816 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 738.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 176,043 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,024,000 after purchasing an additional 155,052 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 38.1% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,316 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 1,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 138.8% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 254,549 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,373,000 after purchasing an additional 147,964 shares in the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pacific Gas & Electric Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE PCG traded down $0.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $13.41. The company had a trading volume of 18,758,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,671,613. Pacific Gas & Electric has a 12-month low of $13.34 and a 12-month high of $21.72. The stock has a market cap of $35.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.55. The business's 50-day moving average is $15.46 and its 200 day moving average is $16.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79.

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

Pacific Gas & Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Pacific Gas & Electric's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PCG shares. Evercore ISI upped 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. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Pacific Gas & Electric from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Argus raised Pacific Gas & Electric to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Pacific Gas & Electric from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pacific Gas & Electric currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.73.

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.