PPL (NYSE:PPL) Given New $38.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

PPL (NYSE:PPL) had its price objective increased by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $35.00 to $38.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential upside of 8.68% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on PPL. Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on 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 assumed coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.20.

PPL Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of PPL traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $34.97. The company had a trading volume of 560,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,442,155. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $33.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.16. PPL has a 52 week low of $25.93 and a 52 week high of $35.91. The company has a market capitalization of $25.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly 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). PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PPL will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at $359,186.40. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares in the company, valued at $376,951.32. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPL

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $816,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in PPL by 151.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 152,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,949,000 after purchasing an additional 91,711 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter worth $941,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter worth $4,175,000. Finally, Yoffe Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter worth $328,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.