Versor Investments LP Boosts Stock Position in Portland General Electric Company $POR

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP increased its stake in Portland General Electric Company by 97.0% in the first quarter, now owning 54,983 shares valued at approximately $2.45 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on Portland General Electric, with Barclays cutting its price target from $45 to $43, and UBS Group raising its rating from "neutral" to "buy" with a new price target of $50.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525, representing an annual yield of 5.0%, with a payout ratio of 77.49%.

Versor Investments LP raised its stake in Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR - Free Report) by 97.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,983 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 27,077 shares during the period. Portland General Electric accounts for approximately 0.4% of Versor Investments LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Versor Investments LP owned about 0.05% of Portland General Electric worth $2,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Portland General Electric by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,472,333 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $556,266,000 after buying an additional 559,201 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Portland General Electric by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,959,660 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $172,720,000 after acquiring an additional 635,987 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its stake in Portland General Electric by 25.2% in the fourth 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. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Portland General Electric by 3.7% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,282,513 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $101,800,000 after purchasing an additional 82,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Portland General Electric by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,643,769 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $71,701,000 after purchasing an additional 59,861 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Portland General Electric

In related news, Director Michael A. Lewis sold 1,937 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.10, for a total value of $77,673.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,509 shares in the company, valued at $541,710.90. The trade was a 12.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph R. Trpik, Jr. sold 2,603 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.35, for a total transaction of $107,634.05. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,089 shares in the company, valued at $1,120,130.15. This trade represents a 8.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Portland General Electric Stock Performance

POR traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $42.93. 399,222 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,173,253. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $41.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.55. Portland General Electric Company has a 1-year low of $39.54 and a 1-year high of $49.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $807.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $797.97 million. Portland General Electric had a return on equity of 8.07% and a net margin of 8.43%.The company's revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. Portland General Electric has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.130-3.330 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Portland General Electric Company will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Portland General Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 25th. Portland General Electric's payout ratio is 77.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective 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. Zacks Research raised Portland General Electric from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Portland General Electric from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Portland General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Portland General Electric from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $45.40.

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.