Truist Financial Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Truist Financial Corp decreased its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 2.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 659,510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 17,416 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp owned about 0.09% of PPL worth $18,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter worth $570,789,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its position in PPL by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 8,952,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $242,616,000 after purchasing an additional 340,686 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in PPL by 91.3% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $160,977,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,820 shares during the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 437.5% during the 4th 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 increased its position in shares of PPL by 50.3% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE PPL opened at $32.75 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $31.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.25. The firm has a market cap of $24.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.82. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $22.35 and a twelve month high of $33.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL has a consensus 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.