Clearbridge Investments LLC Boosts Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 50.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,701,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,572,771 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $129,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in PPL by 66.6% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 28,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $771,000 after purchasing an additional 11,199 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the 1st quarter worth $31,713,000. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 110,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,029,000 after buying an additional 1,704 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of PPL by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 44,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after buying an additional 13,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. bought a new position in shares of PPL in the 1st quarter valued at about $636,000. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on PPL shares. StockNews.com upgraded PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho upped their price target on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on PPL from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.36.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL stock traded up $0.40 on Wednesday, reaching $29.17. 3,812,265 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,817,549. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $22.20 and a twelve month high of $29.89. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $28.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.43, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.81.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.80% and a net margin of 9.29%. PPL’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

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.