Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 62,027 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,200,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 62,027 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in PPL were worth $33,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in PPL during the first quarter worth $42,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in PPL during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in PPL during the first quarter valued at $49,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of PPL stock traded up $0.24 on Friday, hitting $31.79. 4,449,738 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,917,173. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $22.20 and a 52 week high of $31.82. The company has a market cap of $23.45 billion, a PE ratio of 30.85, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $29.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

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

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.82.

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.