First National Trust Co Raises Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

First National Trust Co boosted its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 64,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the period. First National Trust Co’s holdings in PPL were worth $2,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in PPL by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 884,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,590,000 after acquiring an additional 46,552 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of PPL by 7.5% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 866,256 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,848,000 after purchasing an additional 60,589 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in shares of PPL by 8.7% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 496,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,719,000 after purchasing an additional 39,513 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 50.3% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,701,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,433,000 after buying an additional 1,572,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in PPL by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,067,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,153,000 after buying an additional 188,160 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PPL Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $33.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.68, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07. PPL Co. has a one year low of $24.93 and a one year high of $33.58. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.30.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Bank of America raised their target price on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.50.

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.