PPL (NYSE:PPL) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) hit a new 52-week high on Saturday . The company traded as high as $35.97 and last traded at $35.70, with a volume of 10031838 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.98.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPL has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.27.

PPL Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $26.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.51, a PEG 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. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $34.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.28.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Equities analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,292,668.26. The trade was a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $52,627.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 sold a total of 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in PPL during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in PPL by 1,092.2% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 84.5% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.