MBB Public Markets I LLC Makes New $1.30 Million Investment in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 47,081 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,302,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PPL. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,673 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of PPL by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 249,927 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,773,000 after acquiring an additional 10,593 shares in the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at $284,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in PPL by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 82,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,229,000 after purchasing an additional 7,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 92.2% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 96,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,604,000 after buying an additional 46,092 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE PPL opened at $33.08 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $24.41 billion, a PE ratio of 32.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.82. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $22.20 and a twelve month high of $33.14. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.15. 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 (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. PPL had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America increased their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.75.

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.