PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Sold by Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC

Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 52.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,400 shares during the quarter. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in PPL by 25.3% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $162,882,000 after buying an additional 1,189,339 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in PPL by 71.3% in the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,306,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $119,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,200 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in PPL by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,228,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $89,808,000 after purchasing an additional 104,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in PPL by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,571,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,098,000 after purchasing an additional 202,296 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

PPL Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $33.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $32.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.21. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $24.93 and a 12-month high of $33.38. The company has a market capitalization of $24.40 billion, a PE ratio of 29.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.81.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. PPL’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 91.97%.

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.