Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Portland General Electric Company $POR

Norges Bank purchased a new position in Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,177,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $56,497,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Portland General Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Portland General Electric by 76.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Portland General Electric during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Portland General Electric by 112.9% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Portland General Electric by 272.5% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 526 shares in the last quarter.

Portland General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of POR stock opened at $50.51 on Monday. Portland General Electric Company has a one year low of $39.54 and a one year high of $54.62. The company’s 50-day moving average is $50.84 and its 200 day moving average is $50.56. The company has a market capitalization of $5.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.52. 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 (NYSE:POR) last issued its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $879.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $953.24 million. Portland General Electric had a return on equity of 7.57% and a net margin of 7.12%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Portland General Electric Company will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Portland General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 25th will be issued a $0.5513 dividend. This represents a $2.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 25th. This is an increase from Portland General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Portland General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

POR has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group increased 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Portland General Electric in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $51.00 target price on shares of Portland General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Portland General Electric from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Portland General Electric from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.00.

Insider Activity 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 stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,563,909.91. This represents a 19.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Juan Diego Gallegos sold 2,750 shares of Portland General Electric stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $133,842.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 12,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $590,221.09. The trade was a 18.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by 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.