PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $30.14.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PPL shares. StockNews.com started coverage on PPL in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays assumed coverage on PPL in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on PPL from $34.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, July 7th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 165.7% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. West Tower Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.09% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

NYSE:PPL opened at $25.66 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.79. PPL has a 52-week low of $23.47 and a 52-week high of $31.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $26.01 and a 200 day moving average of $26.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.09.

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

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.31%.

PPL Company Profile

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.