Michael Lewis Sells 1,537 Shares of Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) Stock

Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR) Director Michael Lewis sold 1,537 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.83, for a total value of $79,662.71. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,045 shares in the company, valued at $779,782.35. This trade represents a 9.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Portland General Electric Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:POR opened at $50.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.33. Portland General Electric Company has a fifty-two week low of $40.81 and a fifty-two week high of $54.62.

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.19). Portland General Electric had a net margin of 7.12% and a return on equity of 7.57%. The company had revenue of $879.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $953.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Portland General Electric Company will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Portland General Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 25th will be issued a $0.5513 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 25th. This represents a $2.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Portland General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Portland General Electric in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Portland General Electric by 76.4% in 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 period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Portland General Electric during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in Portland General Electric by 112.9% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in Portland General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on POR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Portland General Electric from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Portland General Electric in a report on Friday, May 15th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Portland General Electric from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $51.00 target price on Portland General Electric in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Zacks Research cut Portland General Electric from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $50.90.

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.