Wealth Alliance Purchases 2,132 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Wealth Alliance increased its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 24,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,132 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in PPL were worth $685,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in PPL during the fourth quarter valued at about $570,789,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,045,852 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its holdings in PPL by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 8,952,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $242,616,000 after purchasing an additional 340,686 shares during the period. Electron Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in PPL by 437.5% during the fourth quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,890,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $132,530,000 after purchasing an additional 3,980,626 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in PPL by 50.3% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,701,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572,771 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on PPL. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.36.

PPL Price Performance

NYSE:PPL opened at $32.15 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $23.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.82. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $22.20 and a 12 month high of $32.82. The business’s 50-day moving average is $30.74 and its 200 day moving average is $28.82.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. PPL had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

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.