TCW Group Inc. Reduces Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

TCW Group Inc. lowered its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,922 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 544 shares during the quarter. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PPL. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 46.7% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PPL. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on PPL from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Mizuho raised their price objective on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on PPL from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.64.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $31.17. The stock had a trading volume of 3,614,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,674,631. 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 12 month low of $22.20 and a 12 month high of $31.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.00 billion, a PE ratio of 30.26, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $28.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.90.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.05. PPL had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. PPL’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

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.