Enhancing Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 20,880 PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Enhancing Capital LLC acquired a new stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 20,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $678,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PPL. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in PPL by 1,092.2% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Newton One Investments LLC acquired a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in PPL by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 846 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPL has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays increased their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, 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 objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.70.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $35.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $25.98 billion, a PE ratio of 29.08, 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $25.93 and a 52 week high of $35.91. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.12.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted 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). PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Equities analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.2725 dividend. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 90.08%.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other news, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $359,186.40. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total transaction of $39,857.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,292,668.26. This trade represents a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.22% 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.