Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. Has $939,000 Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 1,134.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 26,075 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd.’s holdings in PPL were worth $939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in PPL in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in PPL in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in PPL in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on PPL shares. Bank of America upped their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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, Barclays upped their price target on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPL has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

PPL Stock Down 0.2 %

PPL stock opened at $34.93 on Monday. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $25.35 and a twelve month high of $35.15. The company has a 50 day moving average of $33.00 and a 200-day moving average of $30.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.78 billion, a PE ratio of 31.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 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 (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at $427,107.90. This trade represents a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.