PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.27.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on PPL from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Argus raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 8th. Mizuho lifted their target price on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPL

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Philadelphia Trust Co. grew its position in shares of PPL by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Philadelphia Trust Co. now owns 16,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 46,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. increased its stake in PPL by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 77,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,087,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in PPL by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 8,192 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 421 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Alliance increased its stake in PPL by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 19,792 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $536,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE PPL opened at $28.68 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.91. The company has a market capitalization of $21.16 billion, a PE ratio of 27.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. PPL has a 12 month low of $22.20 and a 12 month high of $29.89.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. PPL had a return on equity of 8.80% and a net margin of 9.29%. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. PPL’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that PPL will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

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.