PPL (NYSE:PPL) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.03 EPS

PPL (NYSE:PPL) announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.03, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. PPL updated its FY24 guidance to $1.67-1.73 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 1.670-1.730 EPS.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PPL traded down $1.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $31.56. 5,959,107 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,855,602. The company has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.68, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.11. PPL has a twelve month low of $24.78 and a twelve month high of $33.38. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.01.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America upped their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.40.

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.