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

Shares of Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $51.00.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Portland General Electric in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Portland General Electric in a research report on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Portland General Electric from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Portland General Electric from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $51.00 price target on shares of Portland General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st.

Portland General Electric Price Performance

NYSE POR opened at $50.65 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.59. The company has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.52. Portland General Electric has a 1 year low of $39.54 and a 1 year high of $54.62.

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.19). Portland General Electric had a return on equity of 7.57% and a net margin of 7.12%.The firm had revenue of $879.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $953.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. Portland General Electric’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Portland General Electric will post 3.39 EPS for the current year.

Portland General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 25th will be given a $0.5513 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 25th. This represents a $2.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. This is a positive change from Portland General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Portland General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Portland General Electric news, CFO Joseph R. Trpik, Jr. sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total value of $367,725.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,897 shares in the company, valued at $1,563,909.91. This trade represents a 19.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Juan Diego Gallegos sold 2,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $133,842.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 12,127 shares in the company, valued at $590,221.09. This represents a 18.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Portland General Electric

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Portland General Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Portland General Electric by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Portland General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Portland General Electric by 112.9% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. Finally, SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Portland General Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000.

About Portland General Electric

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) is an investor-owned electric utility headquartered in Tigard, Oregon, with roots tracing back to the late 19th century. The company generates, transmits and distributes electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers across a broad territory in Oregon, primarily encompassing the Portland metropolitan area and surrounding regions.

As one of Oregon’s largest electric utilities, Portland General Electric operates a diverse portfolio of generation assets, including hydroelectric facilities, natural gas–fired plants and renewable energy sources.