Atomi Financial Group Inc. Has $347,000 Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,265 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 195.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in PPL during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its holdings in PPL by 1,092.2% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in PPL by 139.2% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in PPL by 5,759.3% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Stock Performance

PPL stock opened at $32.88 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $33.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.03. 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 has a market cap of $24.26 billion, a PE ratio of 29.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.83. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $25.35 and a 1-year high of $35.15.

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

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PPL. Citigroup raised their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered their target price on PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America lifted their target price on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at $360,513.60. The trade was a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,107.90. This represents a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.