Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL – Free Report) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 190,419 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $6,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PPL. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in PPL by 1.7% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 17,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $585,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 14,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $491,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of PPL by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 1.4% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 26,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $869,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its stake in PPL by 3.8% in the third quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 11,678 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
PPL Stock Performance
Shares of PPL stock opened at $33.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.55 billion, a PE ratio of 29.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.83. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $25.35 and a 12 month high of $35.15. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.
PPL Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.96%.
Insider Activity at PPL
In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total transaction of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at $427,107.90. The trade was a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,513.60. This represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
PPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price target on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.09.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on PPL
PPL 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.
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