Brokerages Set PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Target Price at $32.45

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.45.

PPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Argus raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th.

PPL Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE PPL opened at $27.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $20.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $28.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.25. PPL has a 12 month low of $22.20 and a 12 month high of $29.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. PPL had a net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 8.80%. The business’s revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PPL will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter valued at $570,789,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in PPL by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,390,818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $339,048,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695,726 shares during the period. 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of PPL by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,396,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $281,740,000 after buying an additional 1,045,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of PPL by 6.9% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,237,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $217,624,000 after acquiring an additional 592,279 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.