Opal Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 17,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter valued at $98,000. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 291,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,470,000 after purchasing an additional 9,525 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,738 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,331 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PPL shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.00.

PPL Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE PPL opened at $34.21 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $25.24 billion, a PE ratio of 30.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.83. PPL Co. has a one year low of $25.60 and a one year high of $35.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $32.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.45.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.97%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $32,843.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,520,460.72. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of PPL 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,107.90. The trade was a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,794 shares of company stock valued at $661,338 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.