PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $34.27.

PPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America lifted 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. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. 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 on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were 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 owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at $1,520,460.72. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,633 shares of company stock valued at $346,657. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of PPL

Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 third 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 during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the third quarter worth $34,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Stock Up 2.2 %

PPL opened at $35.23 on Monday. 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 $25.87 and a twelve month high of $35.28. The company has a market cap of $26.01 billion, a PE ratio of 29.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $33.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.89.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that PPL will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is 90.08%.

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.