PPL (NYSE:PPL) Hits New 1-Year High at $33.06

Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $33.06 and last traded at $32.92, with a volume of 6589 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $32.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PPL has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.75.

PPL Stock Down 0.1 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.24 billion, a PE ratio of 31.92, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.82. 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 (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter valued at $570,789,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 8,952,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $242,616,000 after purchasing an additional 340,686 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 25.3% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $162,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189,339 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 91.3% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $160,977,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in PPL by 437.5% during 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 buying an additional 3,980,626 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

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.