PPL (NYSE:PPL) Price Target Lowered to $33.00 at Barclays

PPL (NYSE:PPL) had its target price reduced by Barclays from $34.00 to $33.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on PPL. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PPL currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.00.

PPL Stock Down 2.7 %

PPL stock opened at $32.65 on Wednesday. PPL has a one year low of $25.35 and a one year high of $35.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $33.08 and its 200 day moving average is $31.98. The firm has a market cap of $24.09 billion, a PE ratio of 29.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.83.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that PPL will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total transaction of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,107.90. This represents a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $213,510.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPL

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of PPL by 195.5% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in PPL during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in PPL by 1,092.2% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 139.2% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the period. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of PPL by 5,759.3% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555 shares during 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.