Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $18.63 Million Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 5,390.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 563,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 552,760 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in PPL were worth $18,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in PPL in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in PPL during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on PPL in a research report on Friday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PPL has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.40.

PPL Stock Down 1.3 %

PPL stock opened at $32.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $23.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.49, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.82. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $24.10 and a 52-week high of $33.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $32.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.82.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. PPL’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. PPL’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

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.