PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Bought by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 4.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,817 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in PPL were worth $2,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in PPL by 25.3% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $162,882,000 after buying an additional 1,189,339 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in 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 buying 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 worth $119,061,000 after buying an additional 1,792,200 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in PPL by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,228,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $89,808,000 after buying an additional 104,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in PPL by 8.5% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $34.00 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $32.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.51. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $25.35 and a 12 month high of $34.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 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, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. PPL’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 91.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on PPL. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL 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.