Mackenzie Financial Corp Sells 3,948 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Mackenzie Financial Corp cut its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,948 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its holdings in PPL by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 46,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in PPL by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC now owns 8,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors raised its holdings in PPL by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors now owns 13,724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in PPL by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 61,535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,450,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Bank & Trust raised its holdings in PPL by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 53,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL opened at $27.24 on Wednesday. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $22.20 and a 12-month high of $29.03. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market cap of $20.09 billion, a PE ratio of 27.24, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.81.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.02. PPL had a return on equity of 8.45% and a net margin of 8.90%. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. PPL’s payout ratio is 103.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. TheStreet cut PPL from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com cut PPL from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Argus raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.50.

PPL 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.