Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. Takes Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $71,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in PPL by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 202,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,490,000 after buying an additional 1,495 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in PPL by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 453,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,324,000 after purchasing an additional 9,229 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 2,647.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 155,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,203,000 after purchasing an additional 149,442 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 90.7% during the fourth quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 31,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $867,000 after buying an additional 15,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of PPL by 179.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of PPL traded up $0.56 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $30.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 929,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,890,039. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.63. The company has a market cap of $22.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.81. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $22.20 and a twelve month high of $31.45.

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

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th were issued a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on PPL from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on PPL from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America raised their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.64.

PPL 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.