PPL Co. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.26 (NYSE:PPL)

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, November 22nd,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.2575 per share by the utilities provider on Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th.

PPL has decreased its dividend by an average of 16.7% per year over the last three years. PPL has a dividend payout ratio of 56.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect PPL to earn $1.83 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.03 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 56.3%.

PPL Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $34.45 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.42 billion, a PE ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.81. 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 has a 1 year low of $25.35 and a 1 year high of $35.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $32.75 and its 200-day moving average is $30.65.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.50.

About PPL

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.