PPL (NYSE:PPL) Price Target Raised to $38.00 at Morgan Stanley

PPL (NYSE:PPL) had its price target increased by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $35.00 to $38.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 9.27% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price 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, Barclays upped their target price on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PPL presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.27.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE PPL opened at $34.78 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $25.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.19. PPL has a twelve month low of $25.93 and a twelve month 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 earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. As a group, research analysts forecast that PPL will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $32,843.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,186.40. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PPL

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in PPL by 84.5% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

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.