Legal & General Group Plc Has $27.23 Million Holdings in Portland General Electric Company $POR

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in Portland General Electric by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, but still held 567,375 shares valued at about $27.23 million.
• Portland General Electric’s latest quarterly results missed analyst expectations, posting EPS of $0.58 versus $0.77 expected and revenue of $879 million versus $953.24 million estimated.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.5513 per share, implying an annualized yield of 4.4%, even as its payout ratio remains high at 93.75%.

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its position in shares of Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR - Free Report) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 567,375 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 54,703 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.50% of Portland General Electric worth $27,228,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in POR. Sigma Planning Corp raised its holdings in shares of Portland General Electric by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 5,663 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Portland General Electric by 76.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 552 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Portland General Electric by 3.1% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,309 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Portland General Electric by 0.8% in the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 38,563 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,697,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Portland General Electric by 35.1% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,243 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period.

Portland General Electric Stock Performance

POR opened at $50.05 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.52. The business's fifty day moving average is $51.03 and its 200-day moving average is $50.58. Portland General Electric Company has a 52-week low of $39.54 and a 52-week high of $54.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $953.24 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect 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 will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.5513 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 25th. This is a positive change from Portland General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Portland General Electric's payout ratio is presently 93.75%.

Insider Activity at Portland General Electric

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Portland General Electric from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Portland General Electric from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Portland General Electric in a report on Friday, May 15th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Portland General Electric in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Portland General Electric from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.00.

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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