Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Raises Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 44.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,662,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 510,263 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned 0.23% of PPL worth $45,960,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter worth $570,789,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in PPL by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,396,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $281,740,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045,852 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its position in PPL by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 8,952,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $242,616,000 after purchasing an additional 340,686 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,678,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $180,992,000 after purchasing an additional 18,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 437.5% in the fourth quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,890,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $132,530,000 after buying an additional 3,980,626 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Trading Down 0.9 %

PPL opened at $32.16 on Wednesday. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $22.20 and a 12-month high of $32.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.73 billion, a PE ratio of 31.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $30.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.58.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. PPL’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on PPL from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.18.

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.