PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Purchased by Point72 Asset Management L.P.

Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 91.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,778,820 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. owned 0.79% of PPL worth $160,977,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $224,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 60.5% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 141,287 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,907,000 after acquiring an additional 53,280 shares during the period. Sagefield Capital LP lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 70.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sagefield Capital LP now owns 138,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,839,000 after acquiring an additional 57,569 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,228,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $89,808,000 after acquiring an additional 104,662 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 49.8% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 125,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,460,000 after acquiring an additional 41,609 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Stock Down 0.8 %

PPL stock opened at $32.58 on Wednesday. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $22.20 and a 52-week high of $33.01. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.82.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. PPL had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on PPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.75.

PPL 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.