Creative Planning Purchases 3,892 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Creative Planning lifted its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 114,763 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,892 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in PPL were worth $3,796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new position in PPL in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the second quarter worth $29,000. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in shares of PPL during the second quarter valued at $38,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the second quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in PPL in the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on PPL in a research report on Friday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.40.

PPL Stock Down 1.3 %

PPL stock opened at $32.43 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $32.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.79. The stock has a market cap of $23.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.49, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $24.10 and a twelve month high of $33.38.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

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.