PPL (NYSE:PPL) Price Target Raised to $36.00

PPL (NYSE:PPL) had its price target raised by stock analysts at UBS Group from $35.00 to $36.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 3.52% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on PPL. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup upgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.27.

PPL Trading Down 0.6 %

PPL stock opened at $34.78 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $33.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.20. PPL has a fifty-two week low of $25.93 and a fifty-two week high of $35.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $25.67 billion, a PE ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PPL will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $32,843.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at $1,520,460.72. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $359,186.40. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of PPL

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the 3rd quarter worth $273,000. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in PPL by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 936 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in PPL by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 988 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its position in PPL by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 34,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter valued at about $526,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.