PPL (NYSE:PPL) Sees Large Volume Increase Following Analyst Upgrade

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $34.00 to $35.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Approximately 2,514,976 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the previous session’s volume of 4,794,603 shares.The stock last traded at $31.92 and had previously closed at $31.56.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays raised their target price on PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. 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 objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PPL presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in PPL by 25.3% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $162,882,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189,339 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of PPL by 91.3% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in PPL by 71.3% during the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,306,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $119,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,200 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in PPL by 3.4% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,228,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $89,808,000 after buying an additional 104,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in PPL by 8.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,571,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,098,000 after buying an additional 202,296 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Trading Up 1.7 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $32.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $24.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.81.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. Research analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 91.97%.

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.