PPL (NYSE:PPL) Price Target Raised to $34.00

PPL (NYSE:PPL) had its target price hoisted by Barclays from $30.00 to $34.00 in a research report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

PPL has been the topic of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.22.

PPL Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE PPL opened at $33.13 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.06, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.82. PPL has a one year low of $23.80 and a one year high of $33.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business’s fifty day moving average is $32.20 and its 200-day moving average is $29.77.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that PPL will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 90.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PPL. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in PPL by 91.3% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $160,977,000 after buying an additional 2,778,820 shares in the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in PPL by 71.3% in the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,306,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,061,000 after buying an additional 1,792,200 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in PPL by 50.3% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,701,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,433,000 after buying an additional 1,572,771 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. purchased a new stake in PPL in the first quarter worth approximately $31,713,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in PPL by 21.8% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,217,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $116,105,000 after buying an additional 755,689 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

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.