Natixis Advisors L.P. Sells 144,636 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Natixis Advisors L.P. lessened its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 67.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 144,636 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,904,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of PPL by 165.7% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. bought a new position in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, CI Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of PPL by 109.3% during the fourth quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 2,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 1,060 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PPL shares. TheStreet cut PPL from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Barclays started coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on PPL in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim cut their target price on PPL from $34.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Friday, July 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.17.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL opened at $24.76 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.90. PPL Co. has a one year low of $23.47 and a one year high of $31.74. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.25 billion, a PE ratio of 23.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.79.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.03). PPL had a return on equity of 7.75% and a net margin of 8.79%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.31%.

About PPL

PPL Corporation, an energy company, focuses on providing electricity and natural gas to approximately 3.5 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.