PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Bought by Mutual of America Capital Management LLC

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 154,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,139 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $4,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in PPL during the first quarter worth $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in PPL during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in PPL by 179.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of PPL stock opened at $26.01 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $22.20 and a twelve month high of $29.03. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $26.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.11. The stock has a market cap of $19.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.01, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.81.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. PPL had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 8.45%. PPL’s quarterly revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Argus upgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 8th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. TheStreet cut shares of PPL from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.50.

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.