Portland General Electric initiated with an Outperform at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI initiated coverage of Portland General Electric with an Outperform rating and $54 price target. Portland shares have significantly underperformed the utilities sector since mid-2023, notes the firm, which thinks the discounted multiple reflects a “likely mediocre” pending rate case outcome, above-average wildfire risk, power cost volatility, and a high equity issuance program relative to its market cap. However, the firm sees an improvement in the discount from a near-trough historical level given improvements to other elements of the story, the analyst tells investors.