Snowden Capital Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Snowden Capital Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 466 shares during the period. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in PPL by 84.5% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com raised PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.90.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL opened at $34.97 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.70. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $27.24 and a 52-week high of $36.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $35.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.06.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.15 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. Research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 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 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.74%.

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.