Global Retirement Partners LLC Acquires 504 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 4.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 504 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PPL. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in shares of PPL during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new position in PPL during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in PPL during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in PPL during the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on PPL shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays increased their price target on PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America increased their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on PPL in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.22.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE:PPL opened at $32.73 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $24.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.78, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $23.36 and a 1-year high of $33.38.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

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.