Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. Purchases New Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 27,687 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $916,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 195.5% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of PPL during the second quarter worth $38,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.50.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock opened at $34.45 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $32.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.65. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $25.35 and a 1 year high of $35.00. The stock has a market cap of $25.42 billion, a PE ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. PPL’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.