Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Cuts Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC reduced its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 12.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 376,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 52,295 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.05% of PPL worth $12,216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 195.5% during the 3rd 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 period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in PPL during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in PPL by 1,092.2% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in PPL by 139.2% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the period. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in PPL by 5,759.3% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 1,555 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on PPL. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.09.

PPL Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $33.27 on Friday. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.84. The firm has a market cap of $24.55 billion, a PE ratio of 29.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.83. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $25.35 and a 12-month high of $35.15.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during 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 was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPL news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,513.60. The trade was a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was 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 directly owns 12,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,107.90. This represents a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL 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.