Is Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR) a splendid stock to buy now? Hedge funds are taking a pessimistic view. The number of long hedge fund bets dropped by 2 lately.
Just as beneficial, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the investments you’re interested in. There are many stimuli for a bullish insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Several academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if investors know what to do (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a look at the latest action surrounding Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR).
How have hedgies been trading Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR)?
Heading into 2013, a total of 12 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -14% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings substantially.
According to our comprehensive database, David Dreman’s Dreman Value Management had the biggest position in Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR), worth close to $35 million, accounting for 1% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson of Adage Capital Management, with a $22 million position; 0.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedgies that hold long positions include Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management and Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies.
Because Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR) has faced a declination in interest from hedge fund managers, it’s safe to say that there lies a certain “tier” of funds that slashed their entire stakes last quarter. Intriguingly, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management dumped the biggest investment of all the hedgies we monitor, valued at about $4 million in stock.. Steven Cohen’s fund, SAC Capital Advisors, also sold off its stock, about $3 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds last quarter.
How have insiders been trading Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is at its handiest when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last half-year time period, Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR). These stocks are Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HE), Black Hills Corp (NYSE:BKH), UIL Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UIL), UNS Energy Corp (NYSE:UNS), and IDACORP Inc (NYSE:IDA). This group of stocks are in the electric utilities industry and their market caps are closest to POR’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HE) | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| Black Hills Corp (NYSE:BKH) | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| UIL Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UIL) | 8 | 2 | 2 |
| UNS Energy Corp (NYSE:UNS) | 7 | 0 | 4 |
| IDACORP Inc (NYSE:IDA) | 8 | 0 | 7 |
With the results exhibited by Insider Monkey’s research, everyday investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR) is an important part of this process.
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