PPL (NYSE:PPL) Price Target Raised to $38.00

PPL (NYSE:PPL) had its price target hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $35.00 to $38.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.27.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE:PPL opened at $34.78 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71. PPL has a 1 year low of $25.93 and a 1 year high of $35.91. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.20. The company has a market cap of $25.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76.

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

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,668.26. This trade represents a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,186.40. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Boston Partners lifted its position in PPL by 8,266.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,518,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $309,060,000 after buying an additional 9,404,382 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at $228,509,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at $147,480,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in PPL by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,115,824,000 after buying an additional 3,731,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in PPL by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,465,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $891,532,000 after buying an additional 3,380,745 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

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.