PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $36.90.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PPL shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays raised their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total transaction of $61,809.66. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,591,065.30. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in PPL by 141.0% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in PPL by 94.3% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its stake in PPL by 8,350.0% in the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in PPL during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $34.54 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.17. PPL has a one year low of $27.24 and a one year high of $36.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.54, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.07. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that PPL will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.74%.

PPL Company Profile

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.