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

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 51,272 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 131% compared to the average volume of 22,182 call options.

PG&E Price Performance

NYSE:PCG traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $13.60. 50,995,320 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,609,586. PG&E has a one year low of $13.52 and a one year high of $21.72. The company has a market capitalization of $36.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $16.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.02). PG&E had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The company had revenue of $5.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. PG&E's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that PG&E will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.025 per share. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. PG&E's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 32,519 shares of PG&E stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.30, for a total value of $562,578.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 151,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,614,306.80. The trade was a 17.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PG&E

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in PG&E during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in PG&E by 1,233.6% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,690 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its stake in PG&E by 563.0% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,916 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,627 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its stake in PG&E 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. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in PG&E during the first quarter worth about $39,000. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on PCG. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on PG&E from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of PG&E in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group lowered PG&E from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on PG&E from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on PG&E from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.75.

PG&E 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.