PPL (NYSE:PPL) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of PPL (NYSE:PPL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Argus raised shares of PPL from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. TheStreet lowered shares of PPL from a b- rating to a c rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $32.50.

PPL Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $27.02 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $19.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.02, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.81. PPL has a 1 year low of $22.20 and a 1 year high of $29.03. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.28.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. PPL had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 8.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that PPL will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PPL. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 1.1% during the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 69,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,628,000 after buying an additional 748 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,142,000. Czech National Bank grew its stake in PPL by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 128,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,035,000 after buying an additional 41,574 shares during the last quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY increased its position in PPL by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 41,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $978,000 after buying an additional 7,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC increased its position in PPL by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 21,298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.