PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Receives $35.22 Average PT from Analysts

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $35.40.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on PPL in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on PPL in a research report on Friday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 91.3% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $160,977,000 after acquiring an additional 2,778,820 shares in the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in PPL by 71.3% during the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,306,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,200 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in PPL by 50.3% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,701,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572,771 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the first quarter valued at $31,713,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,217,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $116,105,000 after buying an additional 755,689 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE PPL opened at $32.43 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $32.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.82. The company has a market capitalization of $23.92 billion, a PE ratio of 31.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.82. PPL has a 1 year low of $24.10 and a 1 year high of $33.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that PPL will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

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