Brokerages Set PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) PT at $33.18

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $33.18.

PPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on PPL from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America upped their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, StockNews.com raised PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th.

PPL Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:PPL opened at $32.07 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.48. The stock has a market cap of $23.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.82. PPL has a 1 year low of $22.20 and a 1 year high of $32.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.11.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that PPL will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. PPL’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Institutional Trading of PPL

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in PPL during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in PPL during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in PPL during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in PPL during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is 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.