PPL (NYSE:PPL) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $35.00 to $37.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. PPL traded as high as $32.56 and last traded at $32.56, with a volume of 1154 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $32.46.

PPL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. 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, PPL presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.36.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $570,789,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter worth $115,605,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter worth $108,799,000. Electron Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 437.5% in the fourth quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,890,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $132,530,000 after purchasing an additional 3,980,626 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in PPL by 91.3% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $160,977,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,820 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Stock Down 0.9 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $23.90 billion, a PE ratio of 31.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.82.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. The company 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 9.26% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

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.