Investors Buy Large Volume of PPL Call Options (NYSE:PPL)

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 2,746 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 75% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,571 call options.

PPL Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $26.74 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $26.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.81. PPL has a 12-month low of $22.20 and a 12-month high of $29.03.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. PPL had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 8.45%. The business’s revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that PPL will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.85%. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com cut shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 24th. Argus upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of PPL from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.50.

Institutional Trading of PPL

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in PPL by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 171,908 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,050,000 after purchasing an additional 9,905 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in PPL in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,412,000. FMR LLC raised its position in PPL by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,390,818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $339,048,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695,726 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in PPL by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,498,429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,303,000 after purchasing an additional 178,898 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.