Traders Purchase Large Volume of PG&E Put Options (NYSE:PCG)

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 24,380 put options on the company. This is an increase of 189% compared to the typical volume of 8,426 put options.

PG&E Price Performance

NYSE:PCG opened at $20.85 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. PG&E has a 52 week low of $15.94 and a 52 week high of $21.72. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.17. The stock has a market cap of $54.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.01.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.05. PG&E had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 12.51%. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.58 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. PG&E’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that PG&E will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.025 per share. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from PG&E’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho increased their price target on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of PG&E in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of PG&E in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.10.

Insider Activity at PG&E

In other PG&E news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total value of $1,147,766.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,460,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,168,186.52. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PCG. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in PG&E by 4.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 17,116,725 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $346,443,000 after purchasing an additional 681,369 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of PG&E by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 55,938 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after buying an additional 2,527 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of PG&E in the 3rd quarter valued at about $349,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PG&E by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 87,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,879,000 after acquiring an additional 15,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in PG&E by 34.5% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 35,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 9,043 shares in the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PG&E Company Profile

PG&E Corporation, through its subsidiary, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, engages in the sale and delivery of electricity and natural gas to customers in northern and central California, the United States. It generates electricity using nuclear, hydroelectric, fossil fuel-fired, fuel cell, and photovoltaic sources.