National Pension Service Reduces Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

National Pension Service lowered its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 1.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,097,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 21,563 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in PPL were worth $36,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 254,401 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,416,000 after buying an additional 38,449 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in PPL by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 211,671 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,013,000 after acquiring an additional 12,955 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its holdings in PPL by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 18,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $608,000 after acquiring an additional 3,543 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of PPL by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 425,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,080,000 after purchasing an additional 18,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, F M Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 225,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,470,000 after purchasing an additional 30,689 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays upped their price target on PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. 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 report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $32.56 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $32.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.07, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.81. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $24.93 and a 52 week high of $33.38.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.42. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.96%.

PPL 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.