Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Buys Shares of 1,032 PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $34,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in PPL by 195.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PPL during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in PPL in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE:PPL opened at $33.23 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a 50-day moving average of $32.48 and a 200-day moving average of $30.36. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $25.35 and a twelve month high of $33.60. The firm has a market cap of $24.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.81.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.