PPL (NYSE:PPL) Sets New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $35.00 to $37.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. PPL traded as high as $32.56 and last traded at $32.56, with a volume of 1154 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $32.46.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.36.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 5.6% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 884,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,590,000 after buying an additional 46,552 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 7.5% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in shares of PPL by 8.7% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 496,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,719,000 after purchasing an additional 39,513 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 52.1% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 154,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,197,000 after purchasing an additional 52,870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL by 50.3% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,701,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $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.

PPL Stock Down 0.9 %

The company has a market capitalization of $23.90 billion, a PE ratio of 31.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50-day moving average of $30.65 and a 200 day moving average of $28.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. PPL had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

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.