Brokerages Set PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) PT at $35.50

Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $34.09.

PPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays increased their price target on 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. initiated coverage on PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock opened at $32.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $33.12 and a 200-day moving average of $31.11. PPL has a fifty-two week low of $25.35 and a fifty-two week high of $35.15. The company has a market capitalization of $23.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.96, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. PPL’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PPL will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total transaction of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $427,107.90. This represents a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,215,363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720,941 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in PPL by 6.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,760,000 after buying an additional 2,050,122 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in PPL by 12.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,115,824,000 after buying an additional 3,731,412 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,177,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $566,275,000 after acquiring an additional 201,417 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of PPL by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $215,430,000 after acquiring an additional 55,594 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

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.