PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $35.70.

PPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $32,843.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,520,460.72. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. The trade was a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in PPL by 10.7% during the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 12,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the 3rd quarter valued at about $262,000. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co bought a new position in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter valued at about $225,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in PPL by 85.7% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 111,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,834,000 after acquiring an additional 51,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in PPL by 32.3% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 41,169 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,362,000 after acquiring an additional 10,043 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE:PPL opened at $35.42 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $26.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.27, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $34.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.51. PPL has a twelve month low of $25.93 and a twelve month high of $36.64.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that PPL will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.2725 dividend. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.08%.

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.