PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Brokerages

Shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $40.54.

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of PPL from $48.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Evercore set a $42.00 target price on PPL in a research report on Monday, August 17th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of PPL in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded PPL to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 3rd.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other news, CFO Ashley Johnson sold 34,993 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total transaction of $772,645.44. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 561,482 shares in the company, valued at $12,397,522.56. This represents a 5.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kristen Robinson sold 37,107 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.05, for a total transaction of $929,530.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 222,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,583,569.85. The trade was a 14.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of PPL

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in PPL by 5.1% during the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 0.9% in the first quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 49,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,723,000 after buying an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 5.3% in the second quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 8,823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 12,240 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 7,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Stock Up 0.2%

PPL stock opened at $32.09 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $34.68 and a 200-day moving average of $36.13. PPL has a fifty-two week low of $31.56 and a fifty-two week high of $40.10. The company has a market capitalization of $24.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.91.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. PPL had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 9.33%. PPL’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. PPL has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900-1.980 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PPL will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a $0.2850 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.46%.

About PPL

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) is an energy and utility holding company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Through its regulated utility subsidiaries, the company delivers electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers, while also operating and maintaining generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure.

PPL’s Pennsylvania operations are conducted through PPL Electric Utilities, which provides electric delivery service across much of central and eastern Pennsylvania.