PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $34.27.

PPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th.

Insider Activity at PPL

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $32,843.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value 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 $360,513.60. This represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 10,633 shares of company stock worth $346,657. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPL

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,859,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,981,760,000 after acquiring an additional 750,033 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 36,829,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,195,484,000 after acquiring an additional 2,070,499 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 5.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,215,363,000 after acquiring an additional 1,720,941 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 6.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,760,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,465,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $891,532,000 after acquiring an additional 3,380,745 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $35.23 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $26.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83. PPL has a one year low of $25.87 and a one year high of $35.28.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. On average, analysts expect that PPL will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

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.