31,258 Shares in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Bought by Shum Financial Group Inc.

Shum Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 31,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,019,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in PPL by 0.9% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,430,000 after purchasing an additional 55,594 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in PPL by 25.3% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $162,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189,339 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in PPL by 91.3% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $160,977,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,820 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in PPL by 0.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,766,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $157,689,000 after purchasing an additional 35,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in PPL by 71.3% during the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,306,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,200 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $34.54. 204,454 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,882,794. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $25.35 and a twelve month high of $35.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.72.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. Analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 91.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at $427,107.90. This trade represents a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on PPL in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PPL presently has an average 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.