PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) SVP Tadd J. Henninger Sells 1,424 Shares

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $47,675.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,951.32. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

PPL Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of PPL stock opened at $32.81 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $25.35 and a 1 year high of $35.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $33.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.16. The company has a market cap of $24.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.83.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. The business 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PPL. Barclays decreased their target price on PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.00.

Institutional Trading of PPL

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in PPL by 195.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in PPL in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its position in PPL by 1,092.2% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC acquired a new stake in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

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.