PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Acquired by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 16.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,108 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $702,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $403,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $266,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 561,042 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,204,000 after acquiring an additional 10,376 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $570,789,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Argus raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com raised PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Mizuho increased their price target on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on PPL from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.45.

PPL Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:PPL opened at $28.06 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $28.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.24, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.28. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $22.20 and a 1 year high of $29.89.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.48 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be given a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

PPL Company Profile

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.