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

Shares of Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Portland General Electric Stock Performance

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 price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.58.

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

Portland General Electric Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Portland General Electric news, COO Benjamin Felton sold 3,500 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 31,950 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,297,170. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Portland General Electric

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Leeward Investments LLC MA raised its stake in 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 valued at $23,694,000 after purchasing an additional 79,052 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Portland General Electric by 309.9% during the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 174,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,046,000 after acquiring an additional 131,589 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in shares of Portland General Electric by 205.1% during 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. bought a new position in Portland General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,644,000. Finally, John G Ullman & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Portland General Electric by 11.7% in 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 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.