Axa S.A. Lowers Stake in Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR)

Axa S.A. lessened its holdings in Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) by 18.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,549 shares during the period. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Portland General Electric were worth $306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Portland General Electric by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 29,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,305,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Portland General Electric by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. increased its position in shares of Portland General Electric by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 11,920 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC raised its stake in Portland General Electric by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 26,511 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,166,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in Portland General Electric by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 8,536 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the last quarter.

Portland General Electric Stock Performance

NYSE POR opened at $42.45 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.57. Portland General Electric has a twelve month low of $40.05 and a twelve month high of $49.85. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by ($0.02). Portland General Electric had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 9.10%. The company had revenue of $928.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $977.02 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. Portland General Electric’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Portland General Electric will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Portland General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 24th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a positive change from Portland General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 24th. Portland General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on POR shares. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Portland General Electric from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price (down from $50.00) on shares of Portland General Electric in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Portland General Electric from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” 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 boosted their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Portland General Electric from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.40.

Insider Activity

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

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.