PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Position Trimmed by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP trimmed its stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 52.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 192,137 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 215,241 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in PPL were worth $6,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PPL. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in PPL by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,677,941 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $572,300,000 after buying an additional 500,058 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in PPL by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 36,829,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,195,484,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070,499 shares during the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its stake in PPL by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 13,122 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 2,227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in PPL by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 60,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,959,000 after purchasing an additional 11,006 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $47,675.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,951.32. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at $359,186.40. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Trading Down 4.8 %

PPL stock opened at $34.48 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.41. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $25.93 and a 52 week high of $36.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.46 billion, a PE ratio of 28.50, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.86.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is 90.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PPL. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.27.

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.