Analysts Set PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Target Price at $35.20

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $35.27.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE:PPL opened at $34.78 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.20. The firm has a market capitalization 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. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. PPL has a twelve month low of $25.93 and a twelve month high of $35.91.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. On average, analysts anticipate that PPL will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. This is an increase 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%.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $1,520,460.72. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $47,675.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,951.32. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPL

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in PPL by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,859,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,981,760,000 after purchasing an additional 750,033 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in PPL by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 36,829,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,195,484,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070,499 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in PPL by 5.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,215,363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720,941 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 6.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,160,760,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,465,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $891,532,000 after acquiring an additional 3,380,745 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.