Dean Capital’s Portland Play: A Most Curious Venture

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It hath come to my attention, through those tedious filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission – documents, I assure you, designed to lull even the most vigilant investor into a slumber – that Dean Capital Management hath taken a fancy to Portland General Electric. A most curious development, indeed. They’ve acquired some 79,207 shares, a sum amounting to $3.8 million, as if a few paltry millions could truly alter the course of fortune. One wonders if they’ve consulted the stars, or merely succumbed to the prevailing winds of speculation.

A Portfolio Most Peculiar

Let us survey the holdings of this Dean Capital, lest we believe them masters of their own domain. We find a fondness for NYSE:HP ($4.1 million, a mere 1.8% of their assets under management), UNK:BELFB ($4.0 million), NASDAQ:SHOO ($4.0 million), NASDAQ:VIAV ($3.9 million), and NASDAQ:AEIS ($3.9 million). A veritable jumble of letters and numbers, signifying… what, precisely? A diversification strategy, they claim. I suspect a desperate attempt to appear knowledgeable.

The Electric Company: A Brief Accounting

Portland General Electric, for those unacquainted with this purveyor of power, boasts a revenue of $3.4 billion and a net income of $306.0 million. A dividend yield of 4.0%, they proclaim, as if mere percentages could buy happiness. As of February 20th, their stock closed at $52.44, a figure that fluctuates with the whims of the market, much like the affections of a fickle courtier.

Metric Value
Revenue (TTM) $3.4 billion
Net income (TTM) $306.0 million
Dividend yield 4.0%
Price (as of market close Feb. 20) $52.44

A Company of Some Consequence

This Portland General Electric, it seems, is a vertically integrated electric utility, a phrase which sounds far grander than it truly is. They deliver power to nearly a million customers in the Pacific Northwest, a feat of engineering, to be sure, but hardly a cause for unrestrained celebration. They operate thermal, wind, and hydroelectric facilities, a diverse portfolio, though one wonders if they’ve considered the aesthetic implications of wind turbines upon the landscape.

  • Provides electricity generation, transmission, and distribution services, operating thermal, wind, and hydroelectric facilities across Oregon.
  • Serves approximately 917,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in 51 cities throughout Oregon.
  • Generates revenue primarily through regulated retail and wholesale sales of electricity, with additional income from wholesale natural gas transactions.

The Meaning of This Acquisition

Dean Capital, having previously held no shares in this electric concern, has swiftly added over 79,000. A sudden enthusiasm, wouldn’t you agree? Valued at $3.8 million as of December 31st, it represents 1.6% of their $234.7 million in assets. A modest sum, perhaps, but enough to pique the interest of a discerning observer.

The stock, it appears, has fared reasonably well, gaining 18.2% over the past year. Including dividends, the total return reaches 24%, exceeding the S&P 500’s 16.4%. A commendable performance, though one must always remember that past performance is no guarantee of future success.

Adjusted earnings per share did fall from $3.14 to $3.05 last year, a minor setback, they assure us. They anticipate benefits from, shall we say, a certain technological fervor – the insatiable demand for power to fuel these artificial intelligences. And, naturally, they’ve agreed to acquire certain Washington state operations from PacifiCorp for $1.9 billion. A grand gesture, indeed, though one suspects it’s more about expansion than enlightenment.

One can only observe this spectacle with a mixture of amusement and apprehension. The market, after all, is a stage, and we, my friends, are merely players upon it.

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2026-02-23 15:42