Investors Purchase High Volume of PPL Call Options (NYSE:PPL)

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors purchased 27,770 call options on the company. This is an increase of 1,050% compared to the typical volume of 2,414 call options.

PPL Stock Up 1.1 %

PPL traded up $0.35 on Monday, reaching $32.42. 3,001,665 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,894,115. PPL has a 52-week low of $22.20 and a 52-week high of $32.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $23.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $29.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.51.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that PPL will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on PPL from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.18.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in PPL by 5.6% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 884,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $24,590,000 after acquiring an additional 46,552 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of PPL by 7.5% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 866,256 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $23,848,000 after purchasing an additional 60,589 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 496,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,719,000 after acquiring an additional 39,513 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in PPL by 52.1% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 154,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,197,000 after purchasing an additional 52,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in PPL by 50.3% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,701,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,433,000 after buying an additional 1,572,771 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.