HB Wealth Management LLC Has $532,000 Stock Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 119.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,919 shares during the quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in PPL by 195.5% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in PPL by 139.2% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in PPL by 5,759.3% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,107.90. This represents a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,513.60. The trade was a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PPL Trading Down 2.7 %

NYSE:PPL opened at $32.65 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $25.35 and a 1-year high of $35.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.15, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $33.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.98.

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

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

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.