Gabelli Funds LLC Raises Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 595,632 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned about 0.08% of PPL worth $19,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of PPL by 8,266.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,518,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $309,060,000 after purchasing an additional 9,404,382 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter worth about $228,509,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $147,480,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,115,824,000 after buying an additional 3,731,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in PPL by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,465,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $891,532,000 after buying an additional 3,380,745 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $359,186.40. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $32,843.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Trading Down 0.2 %

PPL stock opened at $35.37 on Wednesday. PPL Co. has a one year low of $25.93 and a one year high of $36.64. The business’s fifty day moving average is $34.65 and its 200 day moving average is $33.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.14 billion, a PE ratio of 29.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.2725 dividend. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PPL shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PPL presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.70.

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.