HRT Financial LP Buys Shares of 66,976 Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR)

HRT Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR – Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 66,976 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,281,000. HRT Financial LP owned 0.08% of Portland General Electric at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of Portland General Electric by 2.9% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 12,331,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $535,908,000 after buying an additional 348,610 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Portland General Electric by 8.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,268,761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $489,739,000 after buying an additional 848,958 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Portland General Electric by 21.8% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,067,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $334,647,000 after buying an additional 1,087,996 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Portland General Electric by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,386,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $148,730,000 after buying an additional 47,399 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Portland General Electric by 2.6% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,708,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,242,000 after buying an additional 43,033 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.03% of the company’s stock.

Portland General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:POR opened at $48.51 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.58. Portland General Electric has a 52 week low of $41.58 and a 52 week high of $56.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $49.67 and a 200 day moving average of $48.50.

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $748.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $622.50 million. Portland General Electric had a net margin of 8.88% and a return on equity of 9.06%. Portland General Electric’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Portland General Electric will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Portland General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 26th will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 23rd. This is an increase from Portland General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. Portland General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.30%.

Insider Transactions at Portland General Electric

In other news, VP Brett Michael Sims sold 2,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.00, for a total transaction of $96,350.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $515,966. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP John Teeruk Kochavatr sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total value of $153,360.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 15,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $791,797.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brett Michael Sims sold 2,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.00, for a total value of $96,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,978 shares in the company, valued at $515,966. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

POR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Credit Suisse Group boosted their price target on Portland General Electric from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 21st. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Portland General Electric in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Portland General Electric in a report on Monday, May 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Bank of America upgraded Portland General Electric from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $47.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Portland General Electric from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.75.

About Portland General Electric

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Portland General Electric Co engages in the generation, wholesale purchase, transmission, distribution, and retail sale of electricity in the state of Oregon. The firm also sells electricity and natural gas in the wholesale market to utilities, brokers, and power marketers. It also serves residential, commercial and non-residential customers.