Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 100,788 Shares of Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR - Free Report) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,525,765 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 100,788 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.45% of Portland General Electric worth $66,554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in POR. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Portland General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Portland General Electric by 74.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 621 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Portland General Electric by 151.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 748 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Portland General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at $71,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Portland General Electric by 4,690.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 1,970 shares during the last quarter.

Portland General Electric Price Performance

Portland General Electric stock traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $44.39. 397,808 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,163,505. Portland General Electric has a 52 week low of $39.49 and a 52 week high of $49.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.61. The company's fifty day moving average is $42.39 and its 200-day moving average is $45.61.

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $824.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $716.17 million. Portland General Electric had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 9.10%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Portland General Electric will post 3.21 EPS for the current year.

Portland General Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 24th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 24th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.51%. Portland General Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.45%.

Insider Transactions at Portland General Electric

In other news, CFO Joseph R. Trpik, Jr. sold 1,375 shares of Portland General Electric stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.32, for a total transaction of $56,815.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,960 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,320,587.20. The trade was a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

POR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $47.00 price target (down previously from $52.00) on shares of Portland General Electric in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Portland General Electric from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Portland General Electric from $46.00 to $43.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Portland General Electric from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Portland General Electric from $52.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.44.

Portland General Electric Profile

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.