Analysts Set PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Target Price at $35.22

Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $35.22.

Several research firms recently issued reports on PPL. 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 upped their price target on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PPL. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 2,778,820 shares in the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,792,200 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in PPL by 50.3% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,701,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572,771 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. bought a new position in PPL in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,713,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in 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.

PPL Price Performance

NYSE:PPL opened at $32.87 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $24.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $32.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.77. PPL has a one year low of $23.99 and a one year high of $33.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

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

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 90.35%.

About PPL

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.