Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Has $1.93 Million Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd trimmed its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 58,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,674 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,929,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in PPL by 52.1% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 154,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,197,000 after purchasing an additional 52,870 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PPL by 1.2% in the first quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 156,151 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,299,000 after buying an additional 1,905 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of PPL in the first quarter valued at about $42,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its position in PPL by 83.1% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 18,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $519,000 after buying an additional 8,547 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in PPL during the 1st quarter worth about $527,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.50.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL opened at $32.35 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $23.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $32.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.16. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $24.93 and a 1 year high of $33.38.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict 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 was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.96%.

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.