WINTON GROUP Ltd Acquires Shares of 110,745 PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 110,745 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,595,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PPL. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in PPL by 84.5% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC acquired a new position in PPL during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. This trade represents a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $32,843.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

PPL opened at $35.03 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $34.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.26. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $25.93 and a 12-month high of $35.91. The firm has a market cap of $25.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.95, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.27.

PPL Company 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.