Pacific Gas & Electric Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:PCG)

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 175,920 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 70% compared to the typical daily volume of 103,612 call options.

Pacific Gas & Electric Stock Performance

PCG stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $13.17. 21,021,310 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 26,577,006. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $14.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.29 billion, a PE ratio of 9.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.22. Pacific Gas & Electric has a 52 week low of $11.77 and a 52 week high of $19.16.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.04. Pacific Gas & Electric had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 12.25%. The business had revenue of $5.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Pacific Gas & Electric has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.640-1.660 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Pacific Gas & Electric will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Pacific Gas & Electric’s payout ratio is presently 14.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pacific Gas & Electric

In other Pacific Gas & Electric news, Director William Fugate sold 6,500 shares of Pacific Gas & Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total transaction of $89,440.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 73,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,011,772.80. The trade was a 8.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Marlene Santos sold 158,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $2,848,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 230,885 shares in the company, valued at $4,155,930. This represents a 40.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 166,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,960,440. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pacific Gas & Electric

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Tobam purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in the second quarter worth about $57,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 13.1% during the second quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 5,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 19.6% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PCG shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $13.00 price objective on Pacific Gas & Electric in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Barclays decreased their target price on Pacific Gas & Electric from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Pacific Gas & Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Three 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, Pacific Gas & Electric currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.27.

About Pacific Gas & Electric

PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG) is the holding company for Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a regulated utility that provides electricity and natural gas delivery services in Northern and Central California. Its operations include maintaining and operating electric transmission and distribution networks, natural gas pipelines, substations, and other infrastructure used to serve residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural customers.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company serves a broad portion of California, including the San Francisco Bay Area, the Central Valley, and parts of the northern and central regions of the state.