Metis Global Partners LLC Raises Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 1.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 23,662 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of PPL by 4.9% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 60,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,009,000 after acquiring an additional 2,817 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its position in PPL by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 25,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,768 shares in the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co raised its stake in PPL by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 11,766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in PPL by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,302,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $76,157,000 after purchasing an additional 63,328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,377,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,581,000 after purchasing an additional 111,313 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 $33.70 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.46. 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 twelve month low of $25.35 and a twelve month high of $33.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.09, a PEG ratio of 2.91 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 for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. The company 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 company’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

PPL Company 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.