CRA Financial Services LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

CRA Financial Services LLC reduced its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,250 shares during the period. CRA Financial Services LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 17.7% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 1,805 shares during the period. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. increased its holdings in PPL by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 77,885 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,134,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in PPL in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in PPL by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 14,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 2,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in PPL in the 2nd quarter valued at $707,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PPL shares. StockNews.com raised shares of PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of PPL from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.64.

PPL Price Performance

NYSE:PPL traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $30.52. 4,107,477 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,310,425. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.70. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $22.20 and a 12 month high of $31.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $22.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.81.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. PPL had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is 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.