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

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) was upgraded by investment analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $48.50 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH’s target price points to a potential downside of 0.55% from the stock’s current price.

POR has been the subject of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Portland General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Portland General Electric from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $51.00 price target on shares of Portland General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Portland General Electric from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Portland General Electric has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.25.

Portland General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:POR opened at $48.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business has a 50-day moving average of $51.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.31. Portland General Electric has a 12 month low of $41.80 and a 12 month high of $54.62.

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

Insider Activity at Portland General Electric

In other news, Director Michael A. Lewis sold 1,537 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.83, for a total transaction of $79,662.71. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $779,782.35. The trade was a 9.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Portland General Electric

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Portland General Electric by 7.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 161,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,222,000 after acquiring an additional 11,141 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Portland General Electric by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 61,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,763,000 after purchasing an additional 2,717 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Portland General Electric by 465.5% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 151,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,741,000 after purchasing an additional 124,410 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Portland General Electric in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $271,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Portland General Electric by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 233,640 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,420,000 after buying an additional 13,799 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.