PPL (NYSE:PPL) Given New $38.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

PPL (NYSE:PPL) had its price target lowered by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $39.00 to $38.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 17.43% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on PPL. Bank of America boosted their price target on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.09.

PPL Trading Up 0.1 %

PPL stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $32.36. The company had a trading volume of 677,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,820,541. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.89, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $33.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.21. PPL has a 12-month low of $25.35 and a 12-month high of $35.15.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. PPL’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that PPL will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,107.90. This trade represents a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPL

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in PPL by 12.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,115,824,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731,412 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of PPL by 91.3% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $160,977,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,820 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in PPL by 6.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,160,760,000 after buying an additional 2,050,122 shares in the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 71.3% during the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,306,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $119,061,000 after acquiring an additional 1,792,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in PPL by 5.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,215,363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720,941 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.