Leelyn Smith LLC Buys 1,742 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Leelyn Smith LLC grew its stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 81,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,742 shares during the quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $2,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of PPL by 195.5% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on PPL shares. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upped 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

PPL Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of PPL stock opened at $34.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.76, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $25.35 and a 12-month high of $35.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $32.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.65.

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

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.97%.

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.