Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Cuts Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC decreased its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,920,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,570,910 shares during the quarter. PPL comprises about 1.5% of Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned 1.89% of PPL worth $460,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PPL. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in PPL by 8.7% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 496,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,719,000 after acquiring an additional 39,513 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in PPL by 2.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,260,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,935,000 after buying an additional 96,491 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in PPL by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $215,430,000 after buying an additional 55,594 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of PPL by 10.0% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,067,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,153,000 after purchasing an additional 188,160 shares during the period. Finally, DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,218,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Stock Down 1.4 %

PPL stock opened at $34.44 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $25.35 and a twelve month high of $35.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.75, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $33.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.88.

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

PPL Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total transaction of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at $427,107.90. This trade represents a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on PPL shares. 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. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.50.

PPL 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.