PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Sold by HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 4.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 246,807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 12,530 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $6,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter worth approximately $216,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in PPL by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of PPL by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 198,807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,388,000 after purchasing an additional 8,727 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 74.4% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,409,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,161,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027,720 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,673 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of PPL opened at $32.58 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $22.20 and a 1-year high of $33.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $31.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.99.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. Analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.75.

PPL 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.