PPL (NYSE:PPL) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of PPL (NYSE:PPL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on PPL. TheStreet cut PPL from a b- rating to a c rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays increased their price target on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Bank of America increased their price target on PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Argus raised PPL from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $32.50.

PPL Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of PPL stock opened at $27.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.19 billion, a PE ratio of 27.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.81. PPL has a twelve month low of $22.20 and a twelve month high of $29.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $26.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.25. 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 (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PPL will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.76%. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Philadelphia Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of PPL by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Philadelphia Trust Co. now owns 16,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $457,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of PPL by 0.9% during the third quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 46,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,103,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. boosted its position in shares of PPL by 0.5% during the first quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 77,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,087,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of PPL by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 8,192 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 421 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Alliance boosted its position in shares of PPL by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 19,792 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $536,000 after buying an additional 450 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.