Brokerages Set PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Target Price at $32.64

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.64.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho boosted their price target on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of PPL from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock opened at $30.83 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.74 billion, a PE ratio of 29.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.81. PPL has a 52 week low of $22.20 and a 52 week high of $31.45. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.05. PPL had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that PPL will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were issued a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Institutional Trading of PPL

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PPL. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 2,647.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 155,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,203,000 after buying an additional 149,442 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 179.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 52,054 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,403,000 after buying an additional 10,405 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter worth $216,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 238,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,469,000 after buying an additional 7,040 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About PPL

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.