Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Dominion Energy Call Options (NYSE:D)

Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE:D) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 33,996 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,247% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,524 call options.

Dominion Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:D traded up $0.59 on Wednesday, hitting $59.71. The company had a trading volume of 5,400,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,439,415. The business has a 50 day moving average of $58.09 and a 200 day moving average of $54.92. The company has a market cap of $50.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.75, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Dominion Energy has a 52-week low of $43.53 and a 52-week high of $61.97.

Dominion Energy (NYSE:D) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.05. Dominion Energy had a return on equity of 8.35% and a net margin of 16.95%. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Dominion Energy will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dominion Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.6675 per share. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Dominion Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on D. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Dominion Energy from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Dominion Energy from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Dominion Energy from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Dominion Energy in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $58.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 price objective on shares of Dominion Energy in a report on Friday, November 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.91.

Institutional Trading of Dominion Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Dominion Energy by 4.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,718,747 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $496,358,000 after buying an additional 398,012 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Dominion Energy by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 38,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,216,000 after buying an additional 2,891 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in shares of Dominion Energy by 82.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 24,277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,403,000 after purchasing an additional 11,006 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Dominion Energy by 91.9% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $797,000 after purchasing an additional 6,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Dominion Energy by 10.2% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 165,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,640,000 after purchasing an additional 15,284 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.04% of the company’s stock.

Dominion Energy Company Profile

Dominion Energy, Inc produces and distributes energy in the United States. It operates through three operating segments: Dominion Energy Virginia, Dominion Energy South Carolina, and Contracted Energy. The Dominion Energy Virginia segment generates, transmits, and distributes regulated electricity to approximately 2.8 million residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental customers in Virginia and North Carolina.