PPL (NYSE:PPL) Trading Up 2.2% – Still a Buy?

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) shares shot up 2.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $35.69 and last traded at $35.75. 813,998 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 4,458,177 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.98.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective 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. Citigroup raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.27.

PPL Stock Up 2.1 %

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 market capitalization of $26.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $34.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.29.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $359,186.40. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total transaction of $39,857.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,292,668.26. This represents a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in PPL by 85.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 111,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,834,000 after acquiring an additional 51,366 shares in the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,997,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,842,000 after purchasing an additional 124,275 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in PPL by 128.0% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 82,063 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,641,000 after purchasing an additional 46,071 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC grew its position in PPL by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 307,773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,181,000 after buying an additional 60,966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in PPL by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 696,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $22,608,000 after buying an additional 16,188 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.