Gabelli Funds LLC Has $15.90 Million Stock Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Gabelli Funds LLC reduced its stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 575,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $15,902,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PPL. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $216,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of PPL by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of PPL by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 198,807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,388,000 after acquiring an additional 8,727 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 74.4% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,409,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,161,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 32.0% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,673 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PPL Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of PPL stock opened at $32.84 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.11. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.20 and a fifty-two week high of $32.92. The company has a market cap of $24.23 billion, a PE ratio of 31.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $30.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.95.

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

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is 100.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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 boosted their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America increased their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.75.

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.