Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) Stock

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR - Free Report) had its target price raised by Barclays from $47.00 to $48.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the utilities provider's stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on POR. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Portland General Electric from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $44.00 price objective (down previously from $50.00) on shares of Portland General Electric in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com lowered Portland General Electric from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered Portland General Electric from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $42.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Portland General Electric from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Portland General Electric presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.89.

Portland General Electric Price Performance

Shares of POR traded down $1.30 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $41.69. The stock had a trading volume of 521,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,175,965. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $43.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.37. Portland General Electric has a 52 week low of $40.05 and a 52 week high of $49.85. The company has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR - Get Free Report) last released 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 $1.12 by ($0.21). Portland General Electric had a return on equity of 9.10% and a net margin of 9.13%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Portland General Electric will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Portland General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 24th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.04%. This is a positive change from Portland General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 24th. Portland General Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.45%.

Insider Activity at Portland General Electric

In related news, CFO Joseph R. Trpik, Jr. sold 1,375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.32, for a total value of $56,815.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,320,587.20. The trade was a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Benjamin Felton sold 1,845 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.02, for a total value of $79,371.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,404,430.92. This trade represents a 5.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,795 shares of company stock worth $159,946 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Portland General Electric

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of POR. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in Portland General Electric by 53.0% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 14,254 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 4,936 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Portland General Electric by 114.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 153,290 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,289,000 after buying an additional 81,701 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its position in Portland General Electric by 1.6% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,062,663 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $50,902,000 after acquiring an additional 17,021 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Portland General Electric by 151.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 748 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Portland General Electric by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 989,379 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,058,000 after purchasing an additional 19,057 shares during the last quarter.

About Portland General Electric

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.