By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL – Free Report) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 229,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,821 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in PPL were worth $7,450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in PPL by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,115,824,000 after buying an additional 3,731,412 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of PPL by 6.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,760,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,122 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of PPL by 5.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,215,363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720,941 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of PPL by 322.6% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,223,128 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,461,000 after purchasing an additional 933,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of PPL by 5,390.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 563,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,625,000 after purchasing an additional 552,760 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages have recently commented on PPL. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.00.
PPL Trading Down 1.9 %
Shares of PPL stock opened at $33.76 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $25.87 and a 52-week high of $35.15. The company has a market capitalization of $24.91 billion, a PE ratio of 30.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s fifty day moving average is $32.86 and its 200 day moving average is $32.61.
PPL (NYSE:PPL – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.
PPL Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.97%.
Insider Buying and Selling at PPL
In other PPL news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at $359,186.40. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,794 shares of company stock worth $661,338 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.
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.
Further Reading
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