Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Position in Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR - Free Report) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,478,149 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 47,616 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.35% of Portland General Electric worth $65,925,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Portland General Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $62,004,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Portland General Electric by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,959,660 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $172,720,000 after purchasing an additional 635,987 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Portland General Electric by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,913,132 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $519,651,000 after purchasing an additional 572,531 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP lifted its stake in Portland General Electric by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,306,227 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $100,598,000 after acquiring an additional 463,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Portland General Electric by 1,510.2% during the 4th quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 359,126 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $15,665,000 after purchasing an additional 336,823 shares during the period.

Portland General Electric Stock Performance

NYSE:POR traded down $0.17 on Monday, hitting $41.04. The stock had a trading volume of 97,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,144,954. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $41.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Portland General Electric Company has a 52-week low of $39.54 and a 52-week high of $49.85. The stock has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.56.

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.93 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $928.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $977.02 million. Portland General Electric had a net margin of 8.84% and a return on equity of 8.24%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Portland General Electric Company will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Portland General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 24th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.12%. This is a boost from Portland General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Portland General Electric's payout ratio is presently 73.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

POR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp lowered Portland General Electric from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating and set a $51.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen raised Portland General Electric from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group raised Portland General Electric from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $50.00 in a report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays dropped their target price on Portland General Electric from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Portland General Electric from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.60.

Insider Transactions at Portland General Electric

In other Portland General Electric news, EVP Benjamin Felton sold 1,845 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.02, for a total value of $79,371.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 32,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,404,430.92. This represents a 5.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Portland General Electric

Portland General Electric Company, an integrated electric utility company, engages in the generation, wholesale purchase, transmission, distribution, and retail sale of electricity in the state of Oregon. It operates six thermal plants, three wind farms, and seven hydroelectric facilities. As of December 31, 2023, the company owned an electric transmission system consisting of 1,254 circuit miles, including 287 circuit miles of 500 kilovolt line, 413 circuit miles of 230 kilovolt line, and 554 miles of 115 kilovolt line; and served 934 thousand retail customers in 51 cities.