Bank of America Issues Positive Forecast for PPL (NYSE:PPL) Stock Price

PPL (NYSE:PPL) had its target price raised by Bank of America from $34.00 to $35.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Barclays raised their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

PPL Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of PPL traded up $0.17 during trading on Monday, reaching $32.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 306,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,834,141. The company has a market cap of $23.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.81. 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 fifty day moving average of $32.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.10. PPL has a twelve month low of $24.93 and a twelve month high of $33.38.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PPL will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.97%.

Institutional Trading of PPL

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Leelyn Smith LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 0.4% during the second quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 79,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,209,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its position in shares of PPL by 15.7% during the second quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of PPL by 3.4% during the second quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 11,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 3.1% in the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $409,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in PPL by 1.4% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 26,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $869,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

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.