PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $35.27.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group raised their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $359,186.40. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. This represents a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPL

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of PPL by 84.5% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock opened at $34.09 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.17 billion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. PPL has a 12-month low of $25.93 and a 12-month high of $35.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $34.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PPL will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.08%.

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.