Investors Buy Large Volume of PG&E Put Options (NYSE:PCG)

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 21,058 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 146% compared to the typical volume of 8,557 put options.

Insider Transactions at PG&E

In other PG&E news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total transaction of $1,147,766.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,460,222 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,168,186.52. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of PG&E

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in PG&E by 1.8% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 818,270 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,287,000 after acquiring an additional 14,185 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. increased its holdings in PG&E by 15.0% in the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 271,081 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,733,000 after purchasing an additional 35,407 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PG&E during the 2nd quarter valued at $179,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PG&E in the 2nd quarter valued at about $451,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of PG&E by 3.1% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 22,458 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PCG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on PG&E in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Barclays decreased their target price on PG&E from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America started coverage on PG&E in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.80.

PG&E Stock Down 3.7 %

NYSE PCG traded down $0.74 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $19.24. The stock had a trading volume of 34,088,645 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,139,186. PG&E has a 12 month low of $15.94 and a 12 month high of $21.72. 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 company's 50-day moving average price is $20.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.48. The company has a market capitalization of $50.32 billion, a PE ratio of 15.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.98.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PG&E will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

PG&E Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from PG&E's previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. PG&E's payout ratio is currently 7.81%.

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.