HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Purchases 223,907 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC boosted its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 72.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 531,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 223,907 shares during the period. PPL accounts for approximately 1.3% of HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of PPL worth $17,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in PPL by 8,266.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,518,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $309,060,000 after buying an additional 9,404,382 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter valued at $228,509,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter valued at $147,480,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in PPL by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,115,824,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in PPL by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,465,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $891,532,000 after buying an additional 3,380,745 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. This trade represents a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at $359,186.40. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on PPL shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.70.

PPL Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE PPL opened at $35.67 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $34.70 and a 200-day moving average of $33.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $26.36 and a 1-year high of $36.64. The firm has a market cap of $26.36 billion, a PE ratio of 29.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

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.