Aberdeen Group plc Purchases 2,455,807 Shares of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG)

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric Co. by 151.4%, acquiring an additional 2,455,807 shares, bringing its total holding to 4,077,811 shares worth $69.5 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have also adjusted their positions in Pacific Gas & Electric, with institutional investors owning 78.56% of the company's stock.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Pacific Gas & Electric, with ratings ranging from "sell" to "buy", and an average target price of $20.55.

Aberdeen Group plc boosted its position in Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG - Free Report) by 151.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,077,811 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,455,807 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.15% of Pacific Gas & Electric worth $69,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Pacific Gas & Electric by 7.7% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 31,612 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 2,247 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Pacific Gas & Electric by 18.7% in the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,919,829 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,983,000 after acquiring an additional 302,799 shares during the last quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Pacific Gas & Electric by 57.7% in the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,445 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 1,260 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Pacific Gas & Electric by 12.3% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,027,095 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $52,005,000 after acquiring an additional 331,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fox Hill Wealth Management bought a new position in Pacific Gas & Electric in the first quarter valued at about $1,348,000. Institutional investors own 78.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on PCG. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Pacific Gas & Electric from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Pacific Gas & Electric from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Pacific Gas & Electric from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Pacific Gas & Electric from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.55.

Pacific Gas & Electric Trading Down 1.8%

NYSE PCG opened at $15.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $40.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock's 50-day moving average is $14.10 and its 200-day moving average is $15.74. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. has a one year low of $12.97 and a one year high of $21.72.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $5.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. Pacific Gas & Electric had a return on equity of 10.13% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Pacific Gas & Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.17%.

Pacific Gas & Electric 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.

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