Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) Upgraded by UBS Group to “Buy” Rating

UBS Group upgraded shares of Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $50.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $47.00.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded Portland General Electric from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Portland General Electric from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Portland General Electric from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barclays lowered their target price on Portland General Electric from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (down previously from $50.00) on shares of Portland General Electric in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.40.

Portland General Electric Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:POR opened at $42.34 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $43.32 and its 200-day moving average is $44.06. Portland General Electric has a 52 week low of $40.05 and a 52 week high of $49.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.57.

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.93 by ($0.02). Portland General Electric had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 9.10%. The company had revenue of $928.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $977.02 million. Portland General Electric’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Portland General Electric will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Portland General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 24th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 24th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.96%. This is a boost from Portland General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Portland General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.94%.

Insider Activity

In other Portland General Electric news, EVP Benjamin Felton sold 1,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.02, for a total value of $79,371.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,404,430.92. This trade represents a 5.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph R. Trpik, Jr. sold 1,375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.32, for a total value of $56,815.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,320,587.20. The trade was a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,795 shares of company stock worth $159,946. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Portland General Electric

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in POR. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Portland General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Portland General Electric in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Portland General Electric by 62.6% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Portland General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Portland General Electric by 113.1% in the 1st quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in 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.