Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday.

POR has been the subject of several other reports. Bank of America cut shares of Portland General Electric from a buy rating to a neutral rating and cut their target price for the company from $55.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Mizuho reiterated a neutral rating and set a $42.00 target price (down from $43.00) on shares of Portland General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Portland General Electric from a neutral rating to a buy rating and cut their target price for the company from $47.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Portland General Electric from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $45.13.

Portland General Electric Price Performance

Shares of Portland General Electric stock opened at $43.23 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 0.57. Portland General Electric has a 1-year low of $38.01 and a 1-year high of $51.58. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $929.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $828.94 million. Portland General Electric had a net margin of 8.51% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Portland General Electric will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Portland General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Portland General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.63%. Portland General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.80%.

Insider Transactions at Portland General Electric

In other news, COO Benjamin Felton sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.60, for a total value of $142,100.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 31,950 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,297,170. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Portland General Electric

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Portland General Electric in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Portland General Electric by 181.8% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Portland General Electric in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Portland General Electric during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Portland General Electric by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter.

Portland General Electric Company Profile

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.