Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Takes Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 10,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PPL. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in PPL in the 4th quarter worth $570,789,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,396,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $281,740,000 after buying an additional 1,045,852 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 8,952,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $242,616,000 after buying an additional 340,686 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in PPL by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,678,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $180,992,000 after buying an additional 18,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in PPL by 437.5% in the 4th quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,890,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $132,530,000 after acquiring an additional 3,980,626 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on PPL shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised shares of PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on PPL from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.82.

PPL Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of PPL stock opened at $31.79 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $29.16 and its 200-day moving average is $28.09. The stock has a market cap of $23.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.86, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.11. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $22.20 and a 52-week high of $31.82.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

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.