104,108 Shares in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Purchased by Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 104,108 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,879,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of PPL by 15.7% during the second quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC grew its position in PPL by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 11,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. increased its stake in PPL by 0.5% in the second quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 77,885 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,134,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the period. Philadelphia Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of PPL by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Philadelphia Trust Co. now owns 16,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of PPL from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.18.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $32.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $23.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $30.45 and a 200 day moving average of $28.67. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $22.20 and a 52 week high of $32.54.

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

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

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.