Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. Acquires 2,227 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 20.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,122 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,227 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PPL. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in PPL by 85.7% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 111,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,834,000 after acquiring an additional 51,366 shares during the period. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,997,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,842,000 after purchasing an additional 124,275 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of PPL by 128.0% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 82,063 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,641,000 after buying an additional 46,071 shares during the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of PPL by 24.7% during the third quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 307,773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,181,000 after buying an additional 60,966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 696,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $22,608,000 after buying an additional 16,188 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE PPL opened at $35.70 on Monday. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $25.93 and a 1-year high of $35.97. The company has a 50 day moving average of $34.23 and a 200-day moving average of $33.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $26.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.51, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for 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, equities analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is 90.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,668.26. The trade was a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $32,843.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at $1,520,460.72. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.27.

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.