Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 142,327 Shares of Portland General Electric Company $POR

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its stake in Portland General Electric by 58.4% in Q1, buying 142,327 more shares and bringing its total holdings to 386,026 shares valued at about $20.4 million.
• Several insiders sold shares in May, including CFO Joseph R. Trpik, Jr. and VP Juan Diego Gallegos, while insiders overall own just 0.52% of the stock.
• Portland General Electric reported weaker-than-expected Q1 earnings of $0.58 per share versus $0.77 expected, and analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Reduce” with a $51 price target.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR - Free Report) by 58.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 386,026 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 142,327 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.33% of Portland General Electric worth $20,371,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Portland General Electric by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 35,548 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,706,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its position in shares of Portland General Electric by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 5,663 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Portland General Electric by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,469 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Fox Hill Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Portland General Electric by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 39,373 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,890,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Portland General Electric by 76.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 552 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Portland General Electric

In related news, CFO Joseph R. Trpik, Jr. sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total value of $367,725.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,563,909.91. This represents a 19.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Juan Diego Gallegos sold 2,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $133,842.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 12,127 shares in the company, valued at $590,221.09. This represents a 18.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Portland General Electric Trading Down 0.6%

Portland General Electric stock opened at $52.20 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. Portland General Electric Company has a fifty-two week low of $39.73 and a fifty-two week high of $54.62. The stock has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.30, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.52. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $50.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.19.

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

Portland General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 25th were given 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 was Thursday, June 25th. This represents a $2.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Portland General Electric's dividend payout ratio is 98.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Portland General Electric in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research lowered Portland General Electric from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $51.00 price target on Portland General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Portland General Electric 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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