Analysts Set PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Target Price at $34.09

Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $34.09.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 195.5% in 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. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in PPL in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in PPL in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of PPL by 139.2% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 5,759.3% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Up 0.9 %

PPL stock opened at $32.01 on Friday. PPL has a fifty-two week low of $25.35 and a fifty-two week high of $35.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.62 billion, a PE ratio of 28.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s 50-day moving average is $33.09 and its 200-day moving average is $31.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.96%.

PPL Company 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.