Hsbc Holdings PLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Portland General Electric Company $POR

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its stake in Portland General Electric by 74.7% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 15,093 shares worth about $726,000.
• Portland General Electric reported Q1 earnings that missed expectations, posting $0.58 EPS versus the $0.77 estimate, while revenue of $879 million also fell short of forecasts and declined 5.3% year over year.
• The utility raised its quarterly dividend to $0.5513 per share, but its payout ratio is high at 98.21%; analysts currently have a consensus rating of "Reduce" with a $51 price target.

Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its position in Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR - Free Report) by 74.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,093 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 44,507 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Portland General Electric were worth $726,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Portland General Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Portland General Electric by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 552 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Portland General Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in shares of Portland General Electric by 112.9% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 611 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. Finally, SHP Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Portland General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000.

Portland General Electric Price Performance

Shares of Portland General Electric stock opened at $52.13 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.27, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.07. Portland General Electric Company has a 12 month low of $39.73 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.

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

Portland General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 25th were paid a dividend of $0.5513 per share. This is a boost from Portland General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 25th. This represents a $2.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Portland General Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 98.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

POR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $51.00 price target on Portland General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Portland General Electric in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research downgraded Portland General Electric from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Portland General Electric from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Portland General Electric currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Insider Transactions at Portland General Electric

In other Portland General Electric news, Director Robert N. Hoglund bought 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $48.80 per share, with a total value of $97,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,519 shares of the company's stock, valued at $122,927.20. This represents a 385.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joseph R. Trpik, Jr. sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total transaction of $367,725.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,897 shares in the company, valued at $1,563,909.91. The trade was a 19.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

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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