Elevated Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Elevated Capital Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 353 shares during the period. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in PPL by 195.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the period. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 139.2% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the period. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of PPL by 5,759.3% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 1,555 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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, Barclays raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.09.

PPL Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of PPL stock traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $31.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,789,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,632,785. The business has a fifty day moving average of $33.09 and a 200 day moving average of $31.73. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $25.35 and a 1-year high of $35.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $23.38 billion, a PE ratio of 28.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.83.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.96%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total transaction of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,107.90. This represents a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.