Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) Sets New 1-Year High After Earnings Beat

Shares of Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $49.81 and last traded at $48.73, with a volume of 127174 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $48.81.

The utilities provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $929.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $882.66 million. Portland General Electric had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 9.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share.

Portland General Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 24th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 24th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.14%. Portland General Electric’s payout ratio is currently 68.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on POR. KeyCorp raised Portland General Electric from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Portland General Electric in a report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Portland General Electric from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays lowered shares of Portland General Electric from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $48.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Portland General Electric in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Portland General Electric

In other news, VP John Teeruk Kochavatr sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.25, for a total value of $50,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 22,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,045,527.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Maria Angelica Espinosa sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.30, for a total transaction of $120,750.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,263 shares in the company, valued at $688,902.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP John Teeruk Kochavatr sold 1,100 shares of Portland General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.25, for a total value of $50,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,606 shares in the company, valued at $1,045,527.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Portland General Electric

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of POR. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its holdings in Portland General Electric by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 297,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,476,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Portland General Electric by 274.5% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 197,687 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,303,000 after acquiring an additional 144,900 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Portland General Electric by 299.1% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 102,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,326,000 after acquiring an additional 77,185 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in Portland General Electric by 13.1% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 480,351 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,175,000 after acquiring an additional 55,555 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Portland General Electric by 231.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 19,499 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $819,000 after acquiring an additional 13,618 shares in the last quarter.

Portland General Electric Trading Down 1.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a PE ratio of 16.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.44.

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.