Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Buys 45,057 Shares of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG)

Key Points

• Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric Co. by 2.3%, owning 1,962,537 shares worth approximately $33.7 million as of the end of the first quarter.
• Multiple analysts have mixed ratings on PCG, with target prices ranging from $15.00 to $23.00, leading to an average consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Pacific Gas & Electric recently reported earnings of $0.31 EPS, missing estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.025 per share, reflecting a low 0.7% yield.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,962,537 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 45,057 shares during the quarter. Pacific Gas & Electric accounts for about 0.8% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned approximately 0.07% of Pacific Gas & Electric worth $33,716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in the first quarter worth $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 1,233.6% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 1,690 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 563.0% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,916 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,627 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 45.0% in the first quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 2,173 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 198.1% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,050 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 2,027 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.56% of the company's stock.

Pacific Gas & Electric Trading Down 0.5%

PCG stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $14.98. 23,290,035 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 26,798,364. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.94. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. has a one year low of $12.97 and a one year high of $21.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.08 billion, a PE ratio of 13.74, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $14.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.77.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.02). Pacific Gas & Electric had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 10.13%. The firm had revenue of $5.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PCG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus raised shares of Pacific Gas & Electric to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of 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, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.55.

About Pacific Gas & Electric

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.