M&T Bank Corp Boosts Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,593 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,416 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in PPL were worth $2,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PPL. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in PPL by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 1,703 shares in the last quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in PPL by 2,637.1% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 10,784 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 10,390 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments increased its holdings in PPL by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 113,683 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,081,000 after purchasing an additional 1,810 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its position in PPL by 432.3% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 383,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,391,000 after purchasing an additional 311,408 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PPL Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE PPL opened at $28.52 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.04 billion, a PE ratio of 27.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a fifty day moving average of $27.10 and a 200 day moving average of $26.51. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $22.20 and a 1 year high of $28.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. PPL had a net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 8.80%. The company had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors 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 3.61%. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America raised their price target 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 boosted their price target on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Argus raised 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.