PPL (NYSE:PPL) Lifted to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of PPL (NYSE:PPL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of PPL from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Argus raised PPL from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, TheStreet cut PPL from a b- rating to a c rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $32.50.

PPL Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE PPL opened at $27.02 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.30. PPL has a twelve month low of $22.20 and a twelve month high of $29.03. The company has a market capitalization of $19.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.02, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.81.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.45% and a net margin of 8.90%. PPL’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. Research analysts forecast that PPL will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in PPL by 179.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in PPL in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in PPL during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in PPL by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.