PPL Co. (PPL) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.26 on January 2nd

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, November 22nd,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of 0.2575 per share by the utilities provider on Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th.

PPL has decreased its dividend by an average of 16.7% annually over the last three years. PPL has a payout ratio of 56.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect PPL to earn $1.83 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.03 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 56.3%.

PPL Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:PPL opened at $34.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $25.42 billion, a PE ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $32.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.66. PPL has a 12-month low of $25.35 and a 12-month high of $35.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. PPL’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PPL will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PPL. Barclays lifted their price target on PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

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.