Traders Buy High Volume of Pacific Gas & Electric Call Options (NYSE:PCG)

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors bought 31,848 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 72% compared to the average volume of 18,466 call options.

Pacific Gas & Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PCG traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $18.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,904,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,234,432. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $17.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.45. Pacific Gas & Electric has a one year low of $12.97 and a one year high of $19.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.34.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.36. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.05 billion. Pacific Gas & Electric had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 11.28%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Pacific Gas & Electric will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Pacific Gas & Electric’s payout ratio is currently 16.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PCG. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $23.00 price target on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pacific Gas & Electric has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.27.

Insider Activity at Pacific Gas & Electric

In other Pacific Gas & Electric news, Director Kerry Whorton Cooper sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.68, for a total value of $46,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 73,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,366,273.88. The trade was a 3.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Simon sold 45,607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $820,926.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 392,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,061,454. This trade represents a 10.41% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 84,286 shares of company stock worth $1,528,746. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Gas & Electric

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 62,134,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,019,297,000 after buying an additional 1,132,249 shares in the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments LLC purchased a new position in Pacific Gas & Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,967,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 49.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 947,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,264,000 after buying an additional 315,133 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 684,942 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,329,000 after buying an additional 4,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 3,875.9% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 639,689 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,280,000 after buying an additional 623,600 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

About Pacific Gas & Electric

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE: PCG) is an investor-owned utility holding company whose principal operating subsidiary, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, provides electricity and natural gas service in northern and central California. The company’s core activities include the generation, procurement, transmission and distribution of electric power, as well as the transmission and distribution of natural gas. PG&E serves a broad mix of residential, commercial, and industrial customers across urban and rural communities within its California service territory.

PG&E’s operations encompass utility infrastructure planning and construction, grid operations, customer service and energy procurement.