PPL (NYSE:PPL) Upgraded at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of PPL (NYSE:PPL) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

PPL has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.09.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock opened at $32.29 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. The stock has a market cap of $23.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.83, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $33.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.14. PPL has a 12-month low of $25.35 and a 12-month high of $35.15.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 previous year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PPL will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in PPL by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,215,363,000 after acquiring an additional 1,720,941 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of PPL by 6.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,760,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,122 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,115,824,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731,412 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of PPL by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,177,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $566,275,000 after acquiring an additional 201,417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in PPL by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,430,000 after purchasing an additional 55,594 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.