Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Invests $377,000 in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 11,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $377,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 25.3% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $162,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189,339 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings 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 worth $160,977,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,820 shares during the period. Electron Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 71.3% during the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,306,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,200 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 3.4% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,228,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $89,808,000 after purchasing an additional 104,662 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 8.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,571,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,098,000 after purchasing an additional 202,296 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Down 1.1 %

PPL stock opened at $34.45 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $25.35 and a 12 month high of $35.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.42 billion, a PE ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.68.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

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.