Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC Buys Shares of 6,954 PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 195.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

PPL Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of PPL stock opened at $34.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.66. The company has a market cap of $25.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.76, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.81. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $25.35 and a 12-month high of $35.00.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.97%.

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.