PG&E Corporation is seeking to raise $3.6 billion to strength its equipment
PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), otherwise known as Pacific Gas and Electric Company, is in the spotlight today after the utility name filed a request with regulators to hike its average residential bills. The company is seeking $3.6 billion in order to strengthen its equipment to help prevent deadly wildfires, as several fires have been linked back to them. The hike would increase the average residential bill by $36 for services. PCG is down 0.3% to trade at $10.14 at last check.
PCG has been steadily moving lower on the charts since the start of the year, down 18.2% year-to-date. The stock is now below a slew of short and long-term moving averages, including the 40-day moving average, which has kept a lid on the shares for the last couple months.
Of the five analysts in coverage, three carry a tepid "hold" rating on PG&E stock, with two at a "strong buy." Meanwhile, the 81.88 million shares sold short would take nearly six days to buy back at PCG's average pace of trading.
The options pits have been overwhelmingly bearish. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), PCG sports a 10-day put/call volume ratio of 3.04, which stands higher than all other readings from the past year.
Lastly, the stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 27% stands higher than just 1% of all other readings in its annual range. This implies that options players are pricing in extremely low volatility expectations at the moment.