Fulton Bank N.A. Decreases Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Fulton Bank N.A. lessened its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 4.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 52,092 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,349 shares during the quarter. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,378,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC now owns 13,312 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 1,450 shares during the period. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 0.7% during the first quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 735,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,449,000 after purchasing an additional 4,907 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL during the first quarter worth about $436,000. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 18.3% in the first quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 36,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after buying an additional 5,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 15.0% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 110,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,080,000 after buying an additional 14,494 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on PPL shares. StockNews.com started coverage on PPL in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. Guggenheim lowered their target price on PPL from $34.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Friday, July 7th. Finally, TheStreet cut PPL from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.14.

PPL Price Performance

PPL opened at $25.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.09. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $23.47 and a 1-year high of $31.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $26.02 and a 200-day moving average of $26.90. The company has a market capitalization of $18.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.70, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.79.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.03). PPL had a net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 7.75%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.31%.

PPL Profile

PPL Corporation, an energy company, focuses on providing electricity and natural gas to approximately 3.5 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.