Portland General Electric Company $POR Shares Sold by ProShare Advisors LLC

Key Points

• ProShare Advisors LLC reduced its Portland General Electric stake by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 172,413 shares and ending with 867,954 shares worth about $41.7 million.
• Portland General Electric reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.58 versus the $0.77 estimate and revenue of $879 million versus the $953.24 million consensus.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.5513 per share, bringing the annualized payout to $2.21 and the dividend yield to 4.5%, even as its payout ratio remains high at 93.75%.

ProShare Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR - Free Report) by 16.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 867,954 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 172,413 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.77% of Portland General Electric worth $41,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in POR. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Portland General Electric by 514.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 883,162 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,383,000 after purchasing an additional 739,404 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Portland General Electric by 99.4% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,385,777 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,974,000 after acquiring an additional 690,743 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Portland General Electric by 34.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,497,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $109,381,000 after acquiring an additional 634,890 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Portland General Electric by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,985,941 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $131,381,000 after acquiring an additional 564,379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in Portland General Electric by 223.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 766,535 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,728,000 after acquiring an additional 529,536 shares in the last quarter.

Portland General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of Portland General Electric stock opened at $49.29 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.09. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.42. The company has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 22.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.54. Portland General Electric Company has a one year low of $39.54 and a one year high of $54.62.

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $879.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $953.24 million. Portland General Electric had a return on equity of 7.57% and a net margin of 7.12%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Portland General Electric Company will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Portland General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.5513 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 25th. This is an increase from Portland General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Portland General Electric's payout ratio is presently 93.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Barclays lifted their target price on Portland General Electric from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $51.00 price target on shares of Portland General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Portland General Electric from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Portland General Electric in a research note on Friday. One 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. According to MarketBeat, Portland General Electric presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.00.

Insider Activity

In other Portland General Electric news, Director Robert N. Hoglund purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 trade represents a 385.36% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Benjamin Felton sold 4,969 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.56, for a total value of $266,139.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 41,081 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,200,298.36. This trade represents a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,219 shares of company stock worth $767,707. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Portland General Electric Company Profile

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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