Portland General Electric Company POR is benefiting from delivering safe, clean and reliable energy to its customers. Also, steady capital investments are strengthening its existing infrastructure.Let’s focus on the factors that make this currently Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock a strong pick at the moment. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Growth ProjectionsThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 and 2021 earnings per share is pegged at $1.57 and $2.63, respectively. The bottom-line estimates have increased 1.3% and 1.9% each in the past 60 days.Surprise History & Long-Term Earnings GrowthPortland General Electric’s trailing four-quarter earnings surprise is 98.07%, on average.Its long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is currently projected at 5.5%.Regular Investments & Emission ReductionPortland General Electric makes continuous investments in enhancing and maintaining the existing infrastructure for providing reliable services to its customer base. After investing $2.89 billion in the 2015-2019 time period, the company plans to pump $2.98 billion into infrastructural development between 2020 and 2024. These planned expenditures were directed toward upgrades and replacement of weathered generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure. Moreover, Portland General Electric’s objective is to build a smarter and resilient grid, which will assist it in providing sustainable and trustworthy services to its customers.Further, the utility via its regular investment is planning to lower greenhouse gas emissions. It targets to achieve 80% greenhouse gas emission reduction from its operation in 2030 from the 2010 levels and also aims to realizenet-zero emission from its electricity generation by 2040.Debt-to-Capital RatioThe company’s total debt-to-total capital ratio is 53.97 compared with its industry average of 55.78, indicating that it is managing the business far more efficiently than its peers in the same industry. Its times interest earned ratio at the end of third-quarter 2020 was 2.24. Such a strong ratio indicates that the company will be able to meet its debt obligations in the near future without any difficulty.Dividend YieldOn the back of its steady performance, the company could consistently pay out dividends to its shareholders. In addition, its board of directors has approved annual dividend hikes over the past nine consecutive years. The current annual dividend of the company is $1.56 per share, up from $1.05 in 2011.Presently, it has a dividend yield of 3.91% compared with the industry’s 3.27%.Price PerformanceIn the past three months, the stock has gained 15.8%, outperforming the industry’s rally of 4.4%.Other Utilities to BuyA few other top-ranked utilities are DTE Energy Company DTE, Edison International EIX and Pinnacle West Capital Corporation PNW, all carrying the same Zacks Rank as Portland General Electric at present.DTE Energy Company has a long-term (three-five years) earnings growth rate of 5.7%. The company delivered an earnings surprise of 10.35%, on average, in the last four quarters.Edison International has a long-term earnings growth rate of 3.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 earnings has moved 1.8% north in the past 60 days.Pinnacle West Capital Corporation has a long-term earnings growth rate of 3.6%. The company delivered an earnings surprise of 27.15%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of AllLast year, it generated $24 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $77.6 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Edison International (EIX): Free Stock Analysis Report Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (PNW): Free Stock Analysis Report DTE Energy Company (DTE): Free Stock Analysis Report Portland General Electric Company (POR): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research