Citigroup Upgrades PPL (NYSE:PPL) to Strong-Buy

PPL (NYSE:PPL) was upgraded by analysts at Citigroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

PPL has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.70.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $34.02 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $25.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.05. PPL has a one year low of $25.93 and a one year high of $35.91.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PPL will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at PPL

In related news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $47,675.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,951.32. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total transaction of $39,857.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,292,668.26. The trade was a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,779 shares of company stock valued at $386,515 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.