pcg

PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG) is an energy-based holding company, serving some 15 million northern and central California residents through subsidiary Pacific Gas and Electric Company. The firm owns and operates electricity generation facilities, over 150,000 miles of electric lines, nearly 50,000 miles of natural gas pipelines, and underground natural gas storage fields. Competitors include American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) and Edison International (NYSE: EIX).

Investors were pleased last week, when PG&E said it expected FY08 EPS of $2.90-$3.00 and FY09 EPS of $3.15-$3.25. Analysts had been expecting $2.96 this year and $3.19 next year.

The more questions you have these days about the investment world, and the more concerned you are about economy over the next few years, the more you should have some of your assets in electric utilities. Regardless if our nation makes a push toward nuclear, solar, or wind power or does nothing at all, electric utilities will remain the big players. Year in and year out they have a stable customer base, pay a higher dividend yield and have a much higher level of predictability than almost any other investment class.

Another factor that is likely to contribute to the growth of electric utilities is the push toward electric "plug-in" cars. I have not done any analysis as to how this will affect global warming, the price of gas, the quality of air, or total national energy consumption, but those issues aside, if we change even 25% of the nation's automobiles to all-electric over the next ten years, that is a lot of growth.

Historically, the Dow Jones Utilities Average has beaten the pants off the Dow Jones Industrial Average for total return. There are short periods of time when the Industrials jump past the Utilities, but over the long haul, investors have done much better with what seems like the less attention-grabbing, boring old utilities. Choosing boring stocks remind you of anyone? Yes, "My Pal Warren" has been buying these boring stocks over the last decade (adding to his others in chocolate, underwear, ice cream and insurance) and you can see the results in the five-year chart comparing the two Dow indices.