Cerity Partners LLC Takes $505,000 Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 18,590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $505,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in PPL by 179.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PPL during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in PPL during the third quarter worth $26,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in PPL during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in PPL by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $27.37 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $20.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.81. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $22.20 and a 1 year high of $29.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $26.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.25.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. PPL had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 8.45%. PPL’s revenue was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on PPL. StockNews.com raised PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Bank of America upped their target price on PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. TheStreet lowered PPL from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Argus raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.50.

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.