Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Progress' late filing puts hold on some stock buys

By LOUIS HAU
Published February 21, 2005

A belated regulatory filing last year by Progress Energy Inc. is forcing the company to temporarily suspend stock purchases in its "Investor Plus Plan," which offers shareholders automatic reinvestment of dividends, timed purchases of Progress stock via automatic withdrawals from bank accounts and other services.

According to a notice sent this month to plan participants, stock purchases in the Investor Plus Plan will be suspended from March 15 through May 1. The problem arose after Progress, the Raleigh, N.C., parent of Progress Energy Florida of St. Petersburg, changed the administrator of its 401k program last May. The switch required a "blackout period" when Progress employees couldn't access their 401k accounts and company executives weren't permitted to buy or sell company stock.

Progress was supposed to have made that information public in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company's filing was late, so to make up for the lapse, the SEC is requiring a temporary suspension of stock purchases in the Investor Plus Plan, Progress spokesman Garrick Francis said.

Francis added that dividend reinvestments won't be affected because the suspension period falls between the normal dividend payment dates.

[Last modified February 19, 2005, 17:42:02]