PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.40.

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of PPL in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Barclays raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Evercore ISI set a $43.00 target price on PPL and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 25th.

PPL Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of PPL stock opened at $37.15 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $36.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.47 billion, a PE ratio of 27.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.49. PPL has a 1-year low of $31.22 and a 1-year high of $37.38.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.05). PPL had a return on equity of 8.81% and a net margin of 11.22%.The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. PPL’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. PPL has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.870 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PPL will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th were issued a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is 81.34%.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.86, for a total transaction of $77,636.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 45,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,633,781.60. This trade represents a 4.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPL

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its position in PPL by 141.0% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 94.3% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates purchased a new stake in PPL during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Ancora Advisors LLC raised 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in PPL in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

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.