Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the nine brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.78.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on POR. Barclays cut Portland General Electric from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $48.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Portland General Electric from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Portland General Electric in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Portland General Electric in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on Portland General Electric in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company.

Insider Activity

In other Portland General Electric news, SVP Maria Angelica Espinosa sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.30, for a total transaction of $120,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $688,902.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Benjamin Felton sold 1,886 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $90,528.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 30,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,446,816. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Maria Angelica Espinosa sold 2,500 shares of Portland General Electric stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.30, for a total value of $120,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $688,902.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,486 shares of company stock valued at $262,153. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Portland General Electric

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in POR. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Portland General Electric by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,524,435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $196,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,017,503 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Portland General Electric during the 4th quarter worth $39,112,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Portland General Electric during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,557,000. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC acquired a new stake in Portland General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $17,460,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Portland General Electric by 657.0% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 314,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,607,000 after purchasing an additional 273,118 shares in the last quarter.

Portland General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of Portland General Electric stock opened at $47.76 on Friday. Portland General Electric has a one year low of $38.01 and a one year high of $49.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a PE ratio of 18.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.59.

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. Portland General Electric had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 9.15%. The business had revenue of $758.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $716.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.44 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Portland General Electric will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Portland General Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 24th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. Portland General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.63%.

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.