Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Increases Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 151.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 152,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 91,711 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $4,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in PPL during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in PPL during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in PPL during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 84.5% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC purchased a new stake in PPL during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total transaction of $61,809.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 45,485 shares in the company, valued at $1,591,065.30. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $34.72 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $35.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.17. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $27.24 and a 1 year high of $36.70. The stock has a market cap of $25.67 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.70.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.07. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. PPL’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is 80.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on PPL shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.90.

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.