Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) Issues Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.19 EPS

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The utilities provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.19), Briefing.com reports. Portland General Electric had a return on equity of 8.52% and a net margin of 8.56%.The firm had revenue of $879.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $953.24 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Portland General Electric Stock Down 4.1%

POR stock traded down $2.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $49.81. 2,025,052 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,290,814. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.98, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Portland General Electric has a 1 year low of $39.54 and a 1 year high of $54.62.

Portland General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 25th will be given a dividend of $0.5513 per share. This represents a $2.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. This is a boost from Portland General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 25th. Portland General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 75.81%.

Insider Transactions at Portland General Electric

In related news, EVP Benjamin Felton sold 4,969 shares of Portland General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.56, for a total transaction of $266,139.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 41,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,200,298.36. This trade represents a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Portland General Electric

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of POR. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Portland General Electric during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in 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 valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Portland General Electric by 61.7% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Portland General Electric by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,469 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Portland General Electric by 202.7% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 1,216 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on POR. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Portland General Electric from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Portland General Electric from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 target price on shares of Portland General Electric in a research report on Friday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Portland General Electric in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Portland General Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.00.

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.