Scientech Research LLC Invests $522,000 in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Scientech Research LLC bought a new stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 18,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $522,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in PPL by 726.9% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 541,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,971,000 after purchasing an additional 475,960 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,302,000. Electron Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 71.3% in the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,306,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,061,000 after buying an additional 1,792,200 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP bought a new position in shares of PPL during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $210,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of PPL during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $32.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.11. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.20 and a fifty-two week high of $33.01. The firm has a market cap of $24.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.82.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. PPL had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on PPL shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.75.

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.