PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) Short Interest Update

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 40,200,601 shares, an increase of 23.1% from the February 12th total of 32,650,157 shares. Approximately 5.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 14,708,284 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Based on an average daily volume of 14,708,284 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Approximately 5.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $38.43 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $36.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.02, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.70. PPL has a twelve month low of $32.50 and a twelve month high of $39.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.01). PPL had a return on equity of 9.29% and a net margin of 13.06%.The company had revenue of $2.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.34 EPS. PPL’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. PPL has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900-1.980 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PPL will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.25%.

Institutional Trading of PPL

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates acquired a new position in PPL during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of PPL by 322.5% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 959 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 293.8% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the second quarter worth $44,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on PPL from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on PPL from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of PPL from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of PPL in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPL has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.17.

PPL Company Profile

PPL Corporation is an energy company that owns and operates electric transmission and distribution infrastructure and provides related customer services. The company’s core business centers on delivering electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers through regulated utility operations, maintaining grid reliability, responding to outages and managing customer billing and account services.

PPL’s activities include construction and maintenance of distribution and transmission lines, meter and grid management, and programs to support energy efficiency and the interconnection of distributed resources.