GAMMA Investing LLC Has $622,000 Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 19.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,154 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $622,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 195.5% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the period. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in PPL during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in PPL during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in PPL by 139.2% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the period. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 5,759.3% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PPL Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:PPL opened at $32.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.54. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.35 and a fifty-two week high of $35.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.81 billion, a PE ratio of 28.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.82.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays upgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In related news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 12,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,107.90. This trade represents a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.22% 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.