PPL (NYSE:PPL) Upgraded by Barclays to Strong-Buy Rating

Barclays upgraded shares of PPL (NYSE:PPL) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on PPL. Citigroup increased their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased 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. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.09.

PPL Stock Performance

PPL stock opened at $32.29 on Thursday. PPL has a 52 week low of $25.35 and a 52 week high of $35.15. 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 cap of $23.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $33.11 and a 200-day moving average of $31.16.

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

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 91.96%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $427,107.90. This represents a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of PPL by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,215,363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720,941 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 6.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,160,760,000 after buying an additional 2,050,122 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in PPL by 12.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,115,824,000 after buying an additional 3,731,412 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in PPL by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,177,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $566,275,000 after acquiring an additional 201,417 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in PPL by 0.9% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,430,000 after acquiring an additional 55,594 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

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.