McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 5,759.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,555 shares during the quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $52,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 91.3% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $160,977,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,820 shares in the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of PPL by 71.3% during the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,306,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $119,061,000 after buying an additional 1,792,200 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in PPL by 50.3% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,701,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,433,000 after acquiring an additional 1,572,771 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,713,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,217,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $116,105,000 after purchasing an additional 755,689 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on PPL. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. 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 research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.56.

PPL Price Performance

PPL opened at $32.66 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.66. The company has a market capitalization of $24.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.65, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.82. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $23.36 and a 12-month high of $33.38.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.05. PPL had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.35%.

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.