Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 3.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 189,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,031 shares during the quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $5,349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Gradient Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 767.6% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 3,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 2,679 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 16.8% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the second quarter worth about $284,000. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.5% during the second quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 579,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,009,000 after buying an additional 3,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 8.7% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 496,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,719,000 after buying an additional 39,513 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Trading Up 0.6 %

PPL stock traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $31.17. 3,614,467 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,948,525. The company has a market capitalization of $23.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.26, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.91. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.20 and a fifty-two week high of $31.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $28.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.90.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.