PG&E (NYSE:PCG) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Here's Why

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 8,820,336 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the previous session's volume of 14,296,628 shares.The stock last traded at $19.46 and had previously closed at $19.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on PG&E in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho raised their target price on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of PG&E from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America began 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 for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PG&E currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.80.

PG&E Stock Up 2.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm's 50-day moving average is $20.51 and its 200 day moving average is $19.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.01.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.24 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that PG&E Co. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. This is a boost from PG&E's previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. PG&E's payout ratio is 7.81%.

Insider Activity at PG&E

In other news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total value of $1,147,766.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,460,222 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,168,186.52. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PCG. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in PG&E by 3.1% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 22,458 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank grew its holdings in PG&E by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 47,051 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $930,000 after buying an additional 712 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of PG&E by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 7,501 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of PG&E by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 4,900 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of PG&E by 2.6% in the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,545 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.