Stephens Inc. AR Sells 11,138 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Stephens Inc. AR decreased its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 39.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 16,952 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,138 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in PPL were worth $561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 195.5% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on PPL in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.50.

PPL Stock Down 0.1 %

PPL stock opened at $32.56 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $24.93 and a 1-year high of $33.38. The stock has a market cap of $24.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.81.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. Analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 91.96%.

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.