Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Sells 5,312 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC decreased its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,312 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $673,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its stake in PPL by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 46,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance increased 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 acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC now owns 8,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors lifted its position in PPL by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors now owns 13,724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in PPL by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 61,535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,450,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Price Performance

PPL opened at $28.09 on Monday. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.20 and a fifty-two week high of $28.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $27.02 and a 200 day moving average of $26.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market cap of $20.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.27, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.81.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. PPL had a net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 8.80%. PPL’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Argus raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.27.

About PPL

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.