PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $34.09.

Several research firms have recently commented on PPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,107.90. This represents a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of PPL

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 496,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,719,000 after purchasing an additional 39,513 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in PPL by 2.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,260,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,935,000 after purchasing an additional 96,491 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in PPL by 85.7% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 111,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,834,000 after buying an additional 51,366 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in PPL by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $215,430,000 after buying an additional 55,594 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of PPL by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,067,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,153,000 after buying an additional 188,160 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $32.26 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $33.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.23. PPL has a one year low of $25.35 and a one year high of $35.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.80 billion, a PE ratio of 28.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.82.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. PPL’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that PPL will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.96%.

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.