Sterling Capital Management LLC Acquires 20,147 Shares of Portland General Electric Company $POR

Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR) by 18.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 127,496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,147 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC owned 0.11% of Portland General Electric worth $6,728,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Portland General Electric by 7.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 161,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,222,000 after purchasing an additional 11,141 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Portland General Electric by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 61,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,763,000 after buying an additional 2,717 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Portland General Electric by 465.5% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 151,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,741,000 after buying an additional 124,410 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in shares of Portland General Electric during the first quarter worth about $271,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Portland General Electric by 6.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 233,640 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,420,000 after acquiring an additional 13,799 shares during the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Joseph R. Trpik, Jr. sold 7,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $367,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,563,909.91. This trade represents a 19.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert N. Hoglund bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $48.80 per share, for a total transaction of $97,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,519 shares in the company, valued at $122,927.20. This trade represents a 385.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on POR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Portland General Electric from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $51.00 price target on shares of Portland General Electric in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Portland General Electric in a research report on Friday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.00.

Portland General Electric Stock Performance

POR stock opened at $52.48 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $50.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.66. Portland General Electric Company has a 1-year low of $39.73 and a 1-year high of $54.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a PE ratio of 23.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.52.

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.58 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Portland General Electric Company will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Portland General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.5513 per share. This represents a $2.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 25th. This is a positive change from Portland General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Portland General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.21%.

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.