PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.36.

PPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on PPL from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on PPL from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in PPL by 179.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 667 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in PPL by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 797 shares during the period. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in PPL during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Trading Down 0.3 %

PPL stock opened at $28.62 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.41. The company has a market cap of $21.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.81. PPL has a 52-week low of $22.20 and a 52-week high of $29.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.80% and a net margin of 9.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. Analysts predict that PPL will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th were issued a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

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.