Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on PG&E (NYSE:PCG)

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 45,852 call options on the company. This is an increase of 505% compared to the typical volume of 7,579 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PG&E

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of PG&E by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,929,333 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,336,000 after purchasing an additional 178,233 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in PG&E by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 967,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,220,000 after acquiring an additional 44,904 shares in the last quarter. WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in PG&E by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 25,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 3,570 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new stake in PG&E in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $738,000. Finally, Gemmer Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in PG&E by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC now owns 27,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PG&E Price Performance

PG&E stock opened at $17.07 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.25 and a beta of 1.32. PG&E has a 1 year low of $14.71 and a 1 year high of $18.32. The business has a 50-day moving average of $16.57 and a 200-day moving average of $16.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.43 billion. PG&E had a return on equity of 10.84% and a net margin of 9.24%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PG&E will post 1.35 EPS for the current year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.23%. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PCG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on PG&E from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on PG&E from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on PG&E in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised PG&E from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PG&E has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.89.

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.