PPL (NYSE:PPL) Sets New 52-Week High at $33.06

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $33.06 and last traded at $32.92, with a volume of 6589 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $32.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on PPL. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.75.

PPL Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.20. The firm has a market cap of $24.52 billion, a PE ratio of 32.26, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.82.

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

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is 100.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPL

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in PPL in the 4th quarter worth about $570,789,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in PPL in the 4th quarter worth about $108,799,000. Electron Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of PPL by 437.5% during the fourth quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,890,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $132,530,000 after acquiring an additional 3,980,626 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of PPL by 91.3% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $160,977,000 after acquiring an additional 2,778,820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 50.3% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,701,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572,771 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Company 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.