Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Raises Stock Holdings in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,968 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in PPL by 141.0% in the first 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. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in shares of PPL by 94.3% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. grew its stake in shares of PPL by 1,057.6% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 984 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 899 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen raised PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $36.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total value of $61,809.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 45,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,591,065.30. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PPL Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of PPL opened at $36.50 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.98 billion, a PE ratio of 27.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50 day moving average is $34.37 and its 200 day moving average is $34.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. PPL Corporation has a 12-month low of $28.90 and a 12-month high of $36.99.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.07. PPL had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 11.49%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 80.74%.

PPL 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.