PPL (NYSE:PPL) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $31.50 and traded as high as $32.59. PPL shares last traded at $32.46, with a volume of 3,592,613 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on PPL shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America upped 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. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.09.

PPL Stock Performance

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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $33.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.95 billion, a PE ratio of 28.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.82.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for 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%. PPL’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period 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 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPL news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total transaction of $314,680.35. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at $427,107.90. The trade was a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 195.5% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 139.2% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 5,759.3% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.