LADENBURG THALM/SH SH Upgrades Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) to "Buy"

Key Points

• LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Portland General Electric to “Buy” from “Neutral” and set a $48.50 price target, while the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold” with a $51.25 target.
• Portland General Electric reported quarterly EPS of $0.64, slightly below the $0.65 consensus estimate, and revenue of $814 million versus expectations of $839.75 million. Revenue still increased 0.9% year over year.
• The stock opened at $48.77, near the new brokerage target, and institutional investors including Norges Bank and LSV Asset Management recently increased or initiated positions.

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $48.50 price objective on the utilities provider's stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH's target price indicates a potential downside of 0.55% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on POR. BMO Capital Markets set a $52.00 target price on shares of Portland General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Portland General Electric from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Portland General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Portland General Electric from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.25.

Portland General Electric Price Performance

Shares of POR opened at $48.77 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock's 50 day moving average is $51.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.31. Portland General Electric has a twelve month low of $41.80 and a twelve month high of $54.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.52.

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.01). Portland General Electric had a net margin of 7.27% and a return on equity of 7.47%. The business had revenue of $814.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.75 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Portland General Electric will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Portland General Electric

In other news, Director Michael A. Lewis sold 1,537 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.83, for a total value of $79,662.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,045 shares in the company, valued at $779,782.35. This trade represents a 9.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Portland General Electric

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in POR. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Portland General Electric by 18.8% in the first quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 127,496 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,728,000 after acquiring an additional 20,147 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its holdings in Portland General Electric by 683.5% in the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 43,282 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,077,000 after purchasing an additional 37,758 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in Portland General Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $897,000. LSV Asset Management increased its position in Portland General Electric by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 799,147 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $38,351,000 after purchasing an additional 203,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Portland General Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,497,000.

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.

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