PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $34.09.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PPL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays upgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America increased their target price on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, December 17th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,107.90. This represents a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in PPL by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 261,017 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,217,000 after buying an additional 7,363 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of PPL by 9.0% during the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 68,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,899,000 after acquiring an additional 5,676 shares during the period. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in PPL during the second quarter worth approximately $495,000. Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in PPL by 69.7% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 15,212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 6,248 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in PPL during the 2nd quarter valued at $169,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PPL Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE PPL opened at $31.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. PPL has a fifty-two week low of $25.35 and a fifty-two week high of $35.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $33.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.70. The stock has a market cap of $23.44 billion, a PE ratio of 28.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.83.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PPL will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid 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 3.24%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.96%.

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.