PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $34.00.

PPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. 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 price objective for the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $32,843.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,513.60. The trade was a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,794 shares of company stock worth $661,338. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 17,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $585,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 78,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,480,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 37,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 36,986 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,201,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $32.81 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $33.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.16. PPL has a 52 week low of $25.35 and a 52 week high of $35.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.29, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

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

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.97%.

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.