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

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors bought 438,185 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 275% compared to the typical volume of 116,945 call options.

Pacific Gas & Electric Stock Performance

NYSE:PCG traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $13.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 24,443,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,945,426. The business’s fifty day moving average is $13.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.17. The stock has a market cap of $35.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.73, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Pacific Gas & Electric has a 1 year low of $11.77 and a 1 year high of $19.16.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. Pacific Gas & Electric had a net margin of 12.00% and a return on equity of 11.49%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Pacific Gas & Electric will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Pacific Gas & Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.81%.

Insider Transactions at Pacific Gas & Electric

In related news, Director William Fugate sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total value of $89,440.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 73,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,011,772.80. This trade represents a 8.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John O. Larsen acquired 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $12.20 per share, with a total value of $91,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 36,685 shares in the company, valued at $447,557. This trade represents a 25.70% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Gas & Electric

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PCG. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 5,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Pacific Gas & Electric by 19.6% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 6,636 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088 shares in the last quarter. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric during the second quarter worth $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Pacific Gas & Electric by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 41,792 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 2,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Pacific Gas & Electric in the 2nd quarter worth $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Pacific Gas & Electric from $13.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Pacific Gas & Electric from $24.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Pacific Gas & Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $20.00 price target on Pacific Gas & Electric in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.21.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company Profile

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is a regulated utility that provides electricity and natural gas to homes and businesses in Northern and Central California. Its services include generating, purchasing, transmitting and distributing electricity, as well as delivering natural gas through its pipeline network.

The utility is a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation, whose common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PCG. The company traces its roots to California’s early gas and electric utilities and was incorporated in 1905.

PG&E’s service area includes communities in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Central Valley and other parts of Northern and Central California.