Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,966,720 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 100,496 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.94% of Portland General Electric worth $85,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of POR. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Portland General Electric by 60.9% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 9,835 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $426,000 after acquiring an additional 3,722 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Portland General Electric by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,420,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,554,000 after buying an additional 140,151 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Portland General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,788,000. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Portland General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $5,396,000. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Portland General Electric by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 241,117 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,450,000 after purchasing an additional 18,838 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on POR shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Portland General Electric from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Portland General Electric from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group upgraded Portland General Electric from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $47.00 to $45.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. Bank of America cut Portland General Electric from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $43.00 in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $42.00 price objective (down previously from $43.00) on shares of Portland General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.57.

Insider Activity at Portland General Electric

In other Portland General Electric news, COO Benjamin Felton sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.60, for a total value of $142,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 31,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,297,170. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Maria Angelica Espinosa sold 2,000 shares of Portland General Electric stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.30, for a total value of $88,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $742,600.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Benjamin Felton sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.60, for a total transaction of $142,100.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 31,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,297,170. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,940 shares of company stock worth $248,313. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Portland General Electric Price Performance

POR stock opened at $44.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.76. The company has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of 17.15 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Portland General Electric has a 12-month low of $38.01 and a 12-month high of $51.19.

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.12. Portland General Electric had a net margin of 8.51% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The firm had revenue of $929.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $828.94 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Portland General Electric will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Portland General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.47%. This is a positive change from Portland General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Portland General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.80%.

About Portland General Electric

Portland General Electric Company, an integrated electric utility company, engages in the generation, wholesale purchase, transmission, distribution, and retail sale of electricity in the state of Oregon. It operates six thermal plants, three wind farms, and seven hydroelectric facilities. As of December 31, 2023, the company owned an electric transmission system consisting of 1,254 circuit miles, including 287 circuit miles of 500 kilovolt line, 413 circuit miles of 230 kilovolt line, and 554 miles of 115 kilovolt line; and served 934 thousand retail customers in 51 cities.