PPL (NYSE:PPL) Price Target Increased to $35.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

PPL (NYSE:PPL) had its price objective hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $32.00 to $35.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of PPL from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho boosted their target price on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded PPL from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $32.64.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $30.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,274,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,918,336. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company’s 50 day moving average is $28.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.60. PPL has a fifty-two week low of $22.20 and a fifty-two week high of $31.45. The stock has a market cap of $22.30 billion, a PE ratio of 29.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.81.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.80% and a net margin of 9.29%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that PPL will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.00%.

Institutional Trading of PPL

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in PPL by 69.7% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 15,212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 6,248 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in PPL during the 2nd quarter worth $495,000. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in PPL by 9.0% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 68,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,899,000 after purchasing an additional 5,676 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 2.9% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 261,017 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,217,000 after buying an additional 7,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 105.7% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 333,626 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,224,000 after buying an additional 171,457 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.