National Bank of Canada FI Sells 44,627 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

National Bank of Canada FI decreased its stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 6.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 606,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 44,627 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.08% of PPL worth $17,669,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in PPL by 179.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of PPL by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the first quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PPL. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of PPL from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.36.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $29.17. 3,569,941 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,817,549. PPL Co. has a one year low of $22.20 and a one year high of $29.89. The stock has a market cap of $21.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $28.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.44.

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

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

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.