PPL (NYSE:PPL) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $35.41 and last traded at $35.51, with a volume of 230558 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $35.21.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PPL. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PPL currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.27.

PPL Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $33.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. On average, equities analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $359,186.40. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,779 shares of company stock worth $386,515 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,859,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,981,760,000 after purchasing an additional 750,033 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in PPL by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 36,829,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,195,484,000 after acquiring an additional 2,070,499 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in PPL by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,215,363,000 after acquiring an additional 1,720,941 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of PPL by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,760,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,465,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $891,532,000 after purchasing an additional 3,380,745 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

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.