Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) Shares Sold by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers cut its stake in shares of Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 52,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 820 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Portland General Electric were worth $2,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Portland General Electric by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 20,862 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $910,000 after acquiring an additional 4,044 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in Portland General Electric by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 8,536 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Portland General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at $360,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Portland General Electric by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 178,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,884,000 after acquiring an additional 9,537 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Portland General Electric by 795.0% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 48,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 43,508 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

POR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Portland General Electric from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Portland General Electric from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group raised Portland General Electric from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $47.00 to $50.00 in a report on Monday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Portland General Electric in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $46.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $44.00 target price (down previously from $50.00) on shares of Portland General Electric in a report on Thursday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Benjamin Felton sold 1,845 shares of Portland General Electric stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.02, for a total transaction of $79,371.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,404,430.92. This trade represents a 5.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joseph R. Trpik, Jr. sold 1,375 shares of Portland General Electric stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.32, for a total value of $56,815.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,320,587.20. This represents a 4.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,795 shares of company stock worth $159,946. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Portland General Electric Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:POR opened at $42.68 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a PE ratio of 14.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Portland General Electric has a 52-week low of $40.05 and a 52-week high of $49.85. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.68.

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $928.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $977.02 million. Portland General Electric had a return on equity of 9.10% and a net margin of 9.13%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Portland General Electric will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Portland General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 24th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 24th. This is a boost from Portland General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Portland General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.94%.

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.