PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $34.09.

Several analysts have commented on PPL shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock opened at $32.27 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.54. The company has a market capitalization of $23.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.81, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.82. PPL has a twelve month low of $25.35 and a twelve month high of $35.15. 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 (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. PPL’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PPL will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,513.60. The trade was a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at $427,107.90. This represents 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its position in PPL by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 17,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $585,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.4% during the second quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 79,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,209,000 after buying an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY raised its position in shares of PPL by 2.4% in the third quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 14,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $491,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 3.1% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $409,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in PPL by 1.4% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 26,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $869,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.