PPL (NYSE:PPL) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

PPL (NYSE:PPL) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.02, Zacks reports. PPL had a return on equity of 8.81% and a net margin of 11.22%.The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. PPL updated its FY 2025 guidance to 1.780-1.840 EPS.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL stock traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $36.62. The stock had a trading volume of 1,840,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,444,776. PPL has a 12-month low of $31.22 and a 12-month high of $38.26. The company has a market cap of $27.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th were given a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on PPL in a report on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on PPL in a report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $40.73.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of PPL by 39.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 19,166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $692,000 after buying an additional 5,428 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of PPL by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 62,375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,252,000 after buying an additional 18,057 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in PPL by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 26,861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $971,000 after purchasing an additional 3,084 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in PPL by 64.9% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC increased its position in PPL by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 5,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 343 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.