Short Interest in Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR) Expands By 31.9%

Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 4,687,274 shares, a growth of 31.9% from the March 15th total of 3,552,694 shares. Approximately 4.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,380,632 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Portland General Electric Stock Performance

Portland General Electric stock traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $52.39. 1,285,982 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,280,390. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $52.77 and its 200 day moving average is $49.60. Portland General Electric has a 52-week low of $39.54 and a 52-week high of $54.62. The stock has a market cap of $6.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The utilities provider reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.12). Portland General Electric had a return on equity of 8.52% and a net margin of 8.56%.The company had revenue of $889.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $892.31 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.36 earnings per share. Portland General Electric has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.330-3.530 EPS. Analysts predict that Portland General Electric will post 3.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Portland General Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 23rd. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Portland General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Portland General Electric news, EVP Benjamin Felton sold 4,969 shares of Portland General Electric stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.56, for a total value of $266,139.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 41,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,200,298.36. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Portland General Electric during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Portland General Electric by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Portland General Electric during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Portland General Electric in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in Portland General Electric by 112.9% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

POR has been the subject of several research reports. Loop Capital set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Portland General Electric in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Portland General Electric from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group upped their price target on Portland General Electric from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $58.00 price target on shares of Portland General Electric in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Portland General Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Portland General Electric currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.17.

Portland General Electric Company Profile

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) is an investor-owned electric utility headquartered in Tigard, Oregon, with roots tracing back to the late 19th century. The company generates, transmits and distributes electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers across a broad territory in Oregon, primarily encompassing the Portland metropolitan area and surrounding regions.

As one of Oregon’s largest electric utilities, Portland General Electric operates a diverse portfolio of generation assets, including hydroelectric facilities, natural gas–fired plants and renewable energy sources.