PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 18,826 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 3.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 514,269 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 18,826 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $17,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $160,977,000 after buying an additional 2,778,820 shares during the period. Electron Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 71.3% during the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,306,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,061,000 after acquiring an additional 1,792,200 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of PPL by 25.3% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $162,882,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189,339 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of PPL by 5,390.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 563,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,625,000 after purchasing an additional 552,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yaupon Capital Management LP lifted its position in PPL by 83.1% during the first quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 1,139,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,373,000 after purchasing an additional 517,300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $34.85 on Friday. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $25.35 and a 1-year high of $34.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business’s 50 day moving average is $32.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.11, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.81.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. PPL’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PPL shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.50.

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.