Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) Shares Down 6.5% on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Portland General Electric shares fell 6.5% after UBS Group cut its price target from $53 to $50 while maintaining a neutral rating. The stock traded below its prior close of $46.85, reaching as low as $45.46.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with a consensus “Hold” rating from MarketBeat and an average price target of $50.65; nine analysts rate the stock Hold compared with two Buy ratings.
• The company reported slightly weaker-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $0.64 per share and revenue of $814 million, while declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.5513, implying a 5.0% annualized yield.

Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 6.5% on Monday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $53.00 to $50.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Portland General Electric traded as low as $45.46 and last traded at $43.8270. Approximately 694,807 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 1,230,991 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.85.

POR has been the subject of a number of other reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Portland General Electric from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $48.50 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets set a $52.00 price objective on Portland General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Portland General Electric from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Portland General Electric from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Portland General Electric in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Portland General Electric presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.65.

Insider Activity

In other Portland General Electric news, Director Michael Lewis sold 1,537 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.83, for a total transaction of $79,662.71. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at $779,782.35. This represents a 9.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Portland General Electric

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of POR. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in Portland General Electric by 112.9% during the fourth 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 last quarter. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in Portland General Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Portland General Electric by 55.8% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,014 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. State of Wyoming grew its position in Portland General Electric by 32.9% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,193 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Portland General Electric by 426.4% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,369 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 1,919 shares in the last quarter.

Portland General Electric Trading Down 5.4%

The business's 50-day moving average price is $49.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.51.

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $814.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.75 million. Portland General Electric had a net margin of 7.27% and a return on equity of 7.47%. Portland General Electric's revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Portland General Electric Company will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Portland General Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 25th will be given a $0.5513 dividend. This represents a $2.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 25th. Portland General Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 96.92%.

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 in Oregon. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and other customers, offering electric delivery and related energy services across its service territory.

Founded in 1889, Portland General Electric is headquartered in Portland, Oregon, and serves communities in the Portland metropolitan area and the Willamette Valley, among other parts of the state.

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