Covestor Ltd Buys 880 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 139.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 880 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in PPL were worth $50,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Leelyn Smith LLC grew its position in shares of PPL by 0.4% in the second quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 79,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,209,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of PPL by 15.7% in the second quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC increased its position in PPL by 3.4% during the second quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 11,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in PPL by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 26,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $869,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

PPL Stock Down 0.8 %

PPL stock opened at $33.23 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $32.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.36. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $25.35 and a 12 month high of $33.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.81.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 91.96%.

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.