Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Trading activity surged: Portland General Electric shares traded about 1.85 million shares, 38% above the prior session, and closed at $44.57 versus $43.92 previously.
• Analysts remain cautious: The stock has a consensus “Hold” rating from analysts, with an average price target of $50.50. Recent firms mostly lowered targets or maintained neutral ratings, although BTIG set a higher $57 objective and Ladenburg upgraded the stock to “Buy.”
• Income appeal but weak recent results: PGE pays a quarterly dividend of $0.5513, equivalent to a 4.9% annual yield, but its payout ratio is high at 96.92%. The latest quarter missed consensus estimates on both earnings and revenue, despite modest year-over-year revenue growth.

Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday. Approximately 1,847,803 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 38% from the previous session's volume of 1,339,028 shares. The stock last traded at $44.5730 and had previously closed at $43.92.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on POR. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Portland General Electric from $52.00 to $47.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Portland General Electric from $56.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. BTIG Research set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Portland General Electric in a report on Tuesday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Portland General Electric from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $48.50 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Portland General Electric in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.50.

Portland General Electric Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.61. The company has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a PE ratio of 19.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $814.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $839.75 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Portland General Electric Company will post 3.35 EPS for the current year.

Portland General Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 25th were given a dividend of $0.5513 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 25th. This represents a $2.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. Portland General Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael Lewis sold 1,537 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.83, for a total value of $79,662.71. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $779,782.35. The trade was a 9.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Portland General Electric

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of POR. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 20,147 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its holdings in Portland General Electric by 323.2% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 80,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,160,000 after buying an additional 61,297 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Portland General Electric by 8.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,019,860 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $262,810,000 after buying an additional 372,165 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Portland General Electric by 40.1% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 264,569 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $13,714,000 after acquiring an additional 75,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1834 Investment Advisors Co. boosted its position in Portland General Electric by 125.1% during the 3rd quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 100,332 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,478,000 after acquiring an additional 55,751 shares in the last quarter.

Portland General Electric Company Profile

Portland General Electric Company NYSE: POR is an investor-owned electric utility that generates, purchases, transmits, distributes and sells electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers. The company also offers energy-management programs, renewable energy options and other services designed to support energy efficiency and electrification.

PGE serves communities throughout the state of Oregon, including the Portland metropolitan area and the Willamette Valley. Its operations include a diverse portfolio of power generation resources, transmission and distribution infrastructure, and programs supporting the integration of renewable energy and electric vehicles.

The company traces its history to the development of electric service in Oregon in the late 19th century.

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