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

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders acquired 126,389 call options on the company. This is an increase of 449% compared to the typical volume of 23,017 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Pacific Gas & Electric from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective 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. Argus upgraded Pacific Gas & Electric to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Pacific Gas & Electric from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group cut Pacific Gas & Electric from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.73.

Pacific Gas & Electric Trading Down 0.7%

PCG stock traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $13.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 30,744,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,250,928. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $16.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.87. 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 has a 52 week low of $13.34 and a 52 week high of $21.72. The stock has a market cap of $37.39 billion, a PE ratio of 12.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.60.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 10.35%. The company had revenue of $5.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Pacific Gas & Electric will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Pacific Gas & Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.17%.

Insider Transactions at Pacific Gas & Electric

In other 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 now directly owns 151,116 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Gas & Electric

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric during the first quarter worth about $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric 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 buying an additional 1,690 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 674 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 563.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,916 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric during the first quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.56% of the company's stock.

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.