PPL (NYSE:PPL) Stock Rating Raised to Strong-Buy at Scotiabank

Scotiabank upgraded shares of PPL (NYSE:PPL) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday,Zacks reports.

PPL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of PPL from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded PPL from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of PPL from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of PPL from $42.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PPL has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.21.

PPL Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of PPL stock opened at $32.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.50 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.57. PPL has a 1-year low of $31.56 and a 1-year high of $40.10. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.10.

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

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2850 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 34,993 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total transaction of $772,645.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 561,482 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,397,522.56. This represents a 5.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kristen Robinson sold 37,107 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.05, for a total transaction of $929,530.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 222,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,583,569.85. This trade represents a 14.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PPL

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in PPL in the second quarter worth about $187,326,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in PPL by 7.1% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,157,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $114,787,000 after purchasing an additional 208,820 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in PPL by 23.7% during the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,056,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,762,000 after purchasing an additional 393,748 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,837,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $66,786,000 after purchasing an additional 157,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $54,611,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Company Profile

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) is an energy holding company that owns and operates regulated electric and natural gas utilities in the United States. Its businesses deliver electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers, while also operating and maintaining the infrastructure needed to support reliable energy service.

PPL’s principal subsidiaries include PPL Electric Utilities, which serves customers in eastern and central Pennsylvania; Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities, which provide electric and natural gas service in Kentucky; and Rhode Island Energy, which supplies electricity and natural gas to customers across Rhode Island.