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

Key Points

• Wall Street sentiment is cautious: Portland General Electric has a consensus "Hold" rating from 10 analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $51.00. Recent firms have mostly issued neutral/equal-weight views, though several raised their price objectives.
• Latest earnings missed expectations: The utility reported $0.58 EPS on revenue of $879 million, both below analyst estimates, and revenue fell 5.3% year over year. Despite the miss, analysts still expect full-year EPS of 3.39.
• Dividend increased: Portland General Electric raised its quarterly dividend to $0.5513 per share from $0.53, implying an annualized yield of about 4.4%. The dividend payout ratio is relatively high at 93.75%.

Shares of Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the ten research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $51.00.

Several research firms have weighed in on POR. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Portland General Electric from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Portland General Electric from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Portland General Electric in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Portland General Electric from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $51.00 price target on shares of Portland General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st.

Portland General Electric Stock Up 1.2%

Portland General Electric stock opened at $50.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $50.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.59. Portland General Electric has a twelve month low of $39.54 and a twelve month high of $54.62.

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

Portland General Electric Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Portland General Electric

In other Portland General Electric news, Director Robert N. Hoglund purchased 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $48.80 per share, for a total transaction of $97,600.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 2,519 shares in the company, valued at $122,927.20. This trade represents a 385.36% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Joseph R. Trpik, Jr. sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total transaction of $367,725.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,563,909.91. This trade represents a 19.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Portland General Electric during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted 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 buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Portland General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 324 shares during the period. Finally, SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Portland General Electric during the 4th quarter worth $34,000.

Portland General Electric Company Profile

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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