Merit Financial Group LLC Has $315,000 Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 17.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,703 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $315,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its position in PPL by 0.9% in 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 during the period. Wealth Alliance raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 19,792 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $536,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in PPL by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 10,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC now owns 8,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Bridge Advisors increased its holdings in PPL by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors now owns 13,724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Up 0.6 %

PPL opened at $28.52 on Thursday. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $22.20 and a 12 month high of $28.92. The company has a market cap of $21.04 billion, a PE ratio of 27.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.10 and a 200 day moving average of $26.51.

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

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PPL shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL presently has an average 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.