Dean Capital Management Takes Position in Portland General Electric Company $POR

Key Points

• Dean Capital Management opened a new position in Portland General Electric during Q4, buying 79,207 shares worth about $3.8 million. The stake represented about 1.6% of its portfolio and made POR its 6th-largest holding.
• Insider trading was mixed: VP Juan Diego Gallegos sold 2,750 shares, while Director Robert N. Hoglund bought 2,000 shares. Corporate insiders own just 0.52% of the stock overall.
• Portland General Electric raised its quarterly dividend to $0.5513 per share, or $2.21 annually, for a yield of about 4.4%. The company also recently reported weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue, while analysts collectively rate the stock a Hold.

Dean Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 79,207 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,801,000. Portland General Electric makes up approximately 1.6% of Dean Capital Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Dean Capital Management owned about 0.07% of Portland General Electric as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in POR. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Portland General Electric during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Portland General Electric by 76.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 552 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Portland General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in Portland General Electric by 112.9% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 611 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Portland General Electric by 272.5% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 719 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Portland General Electric

In related news, VP Juan Diego Gallegos sold 2,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $133,842.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 12,127 shares of the company's stock, valued at $590,221.09. The trade was a 18.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert N. Hoglund bought 2,000 shares of Portland General Electric stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $48.80 per share, for a total transaction of $97,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 2,519 shares in the company, valued at $122,927.20. The trade was a 385.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $51.00 target price on Portland General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group increased their price target on Portland General Electric from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Portland General Electric in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Portland General Electric in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Portland General Electric from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Portland General Electric presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $51.00.

Portland General Electric Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE POR opened at $50.14 on Friday. Portland General Electric Company has a 12 month low of $39.54 and a 12 month high of $54.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $5.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company's fifty day moving average price is $50.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.59.

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $879.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $953.24 million. Portland General Electric had a return on equity of 7.57% and a net margin of 7.12%.Portland General Electric's revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Portland General Electric Company will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Portland General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 25th will be paid a $0.5513 dividend. This represents a $2.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. This is a positive change from Portland General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 25th. Portland General Electric's payout ratio is 93.75%.

About Portland General Electric

Portland General Electric NYSE: POR is an investor-owned electric utility headquartered in Tigard, Oregon, with roots tracing back to the late 19th century. The company generates, transmits and distributes electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers across a broad territory in Oregon, primarily encompassing the Portland metropolitan area and surrounding regions.

As one of Oregon's largest electric utilities, Portland General Electric operates a diverse portfolio of generation assets, including hydroelectric facilities, natural gas–fired plants and renewable energy sources.

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