Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) Upgraded at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $48.50 target price on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on POR. BMO Capital Markets set a $52.00 price objective on Portland General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Portland General Electric from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $51.00 target price on Portland General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research raised Portland General Electric from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Portland General Electric from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.25.

Portland General Electric Stock Performance

NYSE POR opened at $50.74 on Thursday. Portland General Electric has a 1-year low of $41.80 and a 1-year high of $54.62. The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.08 and a 200-day moving average of $51.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.52.

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $814.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.75 million. Portland General Electric had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 7.27%.The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Portland General Electric will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Portland General Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.5513 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 25th. This represents a $2.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Portland General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Portland General Electric news, Director Michael A. Lewis sold 1,537 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.83, for a total value of $79,662.71. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $779,782.35. This trade represents a 9.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Portland General Electric

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Portland General Electric by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Portland General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in shares of Portland General Electric by 112.9% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Portland General Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Portland General Electric by 272.5% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the last quarter.

About Portland General Electric

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.