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

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 242,817 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 199% compared to the typical volume of 81,290 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. TD Cowen began coverage on Pacific Gas & Electric in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Pacific Gas & Electric from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pacific Gas & Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.64.

Pacific Gas & Electric Stock Performance

NYSE PCG traded up $0.22 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $16.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 18,758,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,599,740. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.58. Pacific Gas & Electric has a 12 month low of $12.97 and a 12 month high of $21.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $15.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.42.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter. Pacific Gas & Electric had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 10.93%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Pacific Gas & Electric will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.025 per share. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. Pacific Gas & Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.40%.

Institutional Trading of Pacific Gas & Electric

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its position in Pacific Gas & Electric by 3.3% in the second quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 34,867 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 272,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,746,000 after purchasing an additional 1,173 shares in the last quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Pacific Gas & Electric by 57.7% during the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,260 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in Pacific Gas & Electric by 3.5% in the first quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 38,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $664,000 after buying an additional 1,322 shares in the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.