Zacks Research Has Bullish Forecast for PPL Q1 Earnings

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for PPL in a research report issued on Thursday, March 6th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the utilities provider will earn $0.55 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $0.53. The consensus estimate for PPL’s current full-year earnings is $1.83 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for PPL’s Q2 2025 earnings at $0.38 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.42 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.53 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.42 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.44 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.57 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $2.14 EPS.

PPL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup increased their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.70.

PPL Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:PPL opened at $34.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $25.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.15, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $33.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.00. PPL has a 52 week low of $25.93 and a 52 week high of $35.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in PPL in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in PPL in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in PPL in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in PPL by 1,092.2% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $360,513.60. The trade was a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $359,186.40. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,779 shares of company stock worth $386,515 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

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.