PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) COO David J. Bonenberger Sells 981 Shares

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $32,843.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which is accessible through this link.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $32.81 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $24.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.29, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.83. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $25.35 and a twelve month high of $35.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a 50 day moving average of $33.00 and a 200 day moving average of $32.16.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. The business’s quarterly 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PPL. Citigroup increased their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays cut their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised their target price on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PPL. MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new stake in PPL in the second quarter worth about $1,302,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in PPL by 25.3% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $162,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189,339 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PPL during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,619,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in PPL during the second quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.