Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Shares of Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) saw strong trading volume on Monday . 1,198,700 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 22% from the previous session’s volume of 983,220 shares.The stock last traded at $44.03 and had previously closed at $43.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on POR shares. Bank of America cut shares of Portland General Electric from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Monday, February 5th. UBS Group raised Portland General Electric from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and set a $42.00 price objective (down from $43.00) on shares of Portland General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays cut their price target on Portland General Electric from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Portland General Electric from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.13.

Portland General Electric Stock Up 1.2 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.61 and a 200 day moving average of $41.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.77 and a beta of 0.56.

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $929.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $828.94 million. Portland General Electric had a net margin of 8.51% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The business’s revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Portland General Electric will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Portland General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.51%. This is a positive change from Portland General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 21st. Portland General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.80%.

Insider Transactions at Portland General Electric

In related news, COO Benjamin Felton sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.60, for a total value of $142,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 31,950 shares in the company, valued at $1,297,170. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Portland General Electric

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in POR. Leeward Investments LLC MA grew its holdings in shares of Portland General Electric by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 546,701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,694,000 after purchasing an additional 79,052 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its position in Portland General Electric by 309.9% in the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 174,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,046,000 after buying an additional 131,589 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in Portland General Electric by 205.1% in the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 78,278 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,338,000 after acquiring an additional 52,620 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Portland General Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,644,000. Finally, John G Ullman & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Portland General Electric by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 144,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,258,000 after acquiring an additional 15,150 shares in 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.