Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $45.58 Million Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 8.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,377,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 111,313 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $45,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Leelyn Smith LLC boosted its position in PPL by 0.4% in the second quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 79,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,209,000 after buying an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of PPL by 15.7% during the second quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 3.4% during the second quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 11,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 3.1% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $409,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 1.4% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 26,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $869,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $33.72 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $32.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.38. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $25.35 and a 1 year high of $33.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. 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 research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.50.

PPL 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.