Empower Advisory Group LLC Purchases 63,328 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,302,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 63,328 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned about 0.31% of PPL worth $76,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Leelyn Smith LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.4% in the second quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 79,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,209,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 3.4% in the second quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 11,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in PPL by 1.4% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 26,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $869,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $33.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.68, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.81. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $24.93 and a 52 week high of $33.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $32.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.30.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.42. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on PPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

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.