Earnings estimates for Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) (NYSE:POR) have been revised upward over the past 60 days, reflecting analysts’ confidence in the stock. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 earnings of the company has moved 0.4% north to $2.35 per share in the said period.
Portland General is involved in the generation, wholesale purchase, transmission, distribution and retail sale of electricity in Oregon.
Let’s focus on the factors that make Portland General an attractive stock at the moment:
Zacks Rank & Price Appreciation: Shares of Portland General have gained 10.2% compared with its industry’s growth of 3.8% over the past 12 months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
The current dividend yield of the company is 3.14%, which is higher than its industry’s 3%. Portland General raised its annual dividend rate over the past five years at a CAGR of 6.2%.
Strong Capital Expenditure Plan: Portland General aims to invest nearly $2.1 billion within the 2019-2022 time period for strengthening and expanding its existing operations. The investment will be directed to strengthen the grid, as well as upgrade and replace the aging transmission and distribution lines for increasing resilience of the entire system. Strengthening of the systems will allow the company to supply electricity and restore system quickly during natural disasters.
Consistent Customer Growth: Portland General provides services to more than 875,000 customers in Oregon, out of which nearly 52% constitute residential customers. This 100% regulated utility is gaining from increase in population and employment growth in its service territories, in turn boosting the customer base. The company expects to achieve average annual increase in customer growth of more than 1% over the long term.
Estimates Movement & Surprise Record: The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 earnings is pegged at $2.44, reflecting nearly 3.72% year-over-year growth. Its bottom line surpassed the consensus mark in last four reported quarters, with the average positive surprise being 13.32%. The company’s long-term earnings (three to five years) growth is pegged at 3.29%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 total revenues is pegged at $2.04 billion, reflecting year-over-year growth of 2.71%.
Other Key Picks
Other top-ranked stocks from the same industry include Edison International (NYSE:EIX) , Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (NYSE:PNW) and FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) , each currently holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
In the trailing four quarters, Edison International, Pinnacle West Capital and FirstEnergy reported positive earnings surprise of 7.17%, 6.15% and 3.67%, respectively.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 earnings for Edison International, Pinnacle West Capital and FirstEnergy has moved up 0.3%, 2.5%% and 0.8%, respectively, in the past 90 days.
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