Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.13.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on POR shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Portland General Electric from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Bank of America cut Portland General Electric from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $55.00 to $43.00 in a report on Monday, February 5th. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $42.00 price objective (down from $43.00) on shares of Portland General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays cut their target price on Portland General Electric from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Portland General Electric from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th.

Portland General Electric Stock Performance

POR stock opened at $44.31 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.60. Portland General Electric has a 12-month low of $38.01 and a 12-month high of $51.58. The firm has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.98 and a beta of 0.56. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $929.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $828.94 million. Portland General Electric had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.51%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Portland General Electric will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Portland General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.51%. This is an increase from Portland General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Portland General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.80%.

Insider Activity at Portland General Electric

In other news, COO Benjamin Felton sold 3,500 shares of Portland General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.60, for a total transaction of $142,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 31,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,297,170. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Portland General Electric

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Leeward Investments LLC MA increased its holdings in shares of Portland General Electric by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 546,701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,694,000 after purchasing an additional 79,052 shares during the period. Comerica Bank lifted its position in Portland General Electric by 309.9% during the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 174,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,046,000 after purchasing an additional 131,589 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in Portland General Electric by 205.1% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 78,278 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,338,000 after buying an additional 52,620 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Portland General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,644,000. Finally, John G Ullman & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Portland General Electric by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 144,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,258,000 after buying an additional 15,150 shares in the last quarter.

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.