Vanguard Group Inc. Reduces Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 94,054,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 273,247 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.13% of PPL worth $2,548,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter valued at $570,789,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in PPL by 13,891.2% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 11,724,495 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $276,229,000 after buying an additional 11,640,696 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter valued at $115,605,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter valued at $108,799,000. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in PPL by 437.5% during the 4th quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,890,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $132,530,000 after buying an additional 3,980,626 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:PPL opened at $27.92 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $28.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.08. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $22.20 and a 12 month high of $29.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.59 billion, a PE ratio of 27.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.82.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. PPL had a return on equity of 8.80% and a net margin of 9.29%. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on PPL from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Argus upgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on PPL from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PPL currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.45.

About PPL

PPL Corporation, an energy company, focuses on providing electricity and natural gas to approximately 3.6 million customers in the United States. It operates through three segments: Kentucky Regulated, Pennsylvania Regulated, and Rhode Island Regulated. The company delivers electricity to customers in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Virginia, and Rhode Island; delivers natural gas to customers in Kentucky and Rhode Island; and generates electricity from power plants in Kentucky.