Portland General Electric Downgraded To Hold At Deutsche Bank

Analysts at Deutsche Bank downgraded Portland General Electric Co POR today from Buy to Hold and raised their price target for the stock from $37.00 to $38.00. Portland General Electric is a utility company that generates and provides electricity throughout the state of Oregon.
The numbers
Deutsche Bank analyst Jonathan Arnold expects that 2015 will be a “transitional” year for Portland General Electric in which the risk and reward of owning the company’s stock will be nearly balanced. “With POR’s integrated resource plan (IRP) not expected until 2016, we see limited catalysts in 2015 to bring clarity on the next wave of potential growth.”
Insider selling
In May of 2014, Portland General Electric Senior Vice President Maria Pope sold $274,438 worth of Portland General Electric stock at a price of $32.80. While insider selling is not a reliable predictor of the future of a company, it certainly isn’t reassuring for Portland General Electric shareholders to see management selling shares of stock.
Little upside potential
Portland General Electric stock is mostly flat after today’s downgrade and is currently trading at around $37.60. Deutsche Bank’s $38 price target represents a 1.1 percent upside for the stock from current levels. Portland General Electric stock has already had an exceptional 2014. The stock is up more than 24 percent year to date.
Other analyst action
Deutsche Bank’s downgrade is the latest analyst action on Portland General Electric, but Barclays weighed in on the stock earlier this year. In October, Barclays reiterated a rating of Overweight on the stock and raised its price target to $39.00.