Traders Purchase Large Volume of PG&E Put Options (NYSE:PCG)

PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 37,894 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 87% compared to the typical daily volume of 20,282 put options.

PG&E Stock Performance

PCG stock opened at $16.02 on Thursday. PG&E has a twelve month low of $14.99 and a twelve month high of $21.72. The firm has a market cap of $41.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.52, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PG&E news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of PG&E stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 1,460,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,168,186.52. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in PG&E by 68.3% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of PG&E by 61.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PG&E by 77.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in PG&E by 98.5% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 2,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in PG&E by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 4,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of PG&E in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho raised their price objective on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on PG&E in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on PG&E from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.36.

PG&E Company Profile

PG&E Corp. operates as a holding company, which engages in generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity and natural gas to customers. It specializes in energy, utility, power, gas, electricity, solar and sustainability. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Oakland, CA.