PPL (NYSE:PPL) Price Target Raised to $34.00 at Barclays

PPL (NYSE:PPL) had its price target boosted by Barclays from $30.00 to $34.00 in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PPL has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.22.

PPL Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $32.87 on Monday. PPL has a 52-week low of $23.99 and a 52-week high of $33.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.77. The firm has a market cap of $24.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.82.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.05. PPL had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. PPL’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that PPL will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 90.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 91.3% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $160,977,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,820 shares during the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in PPL by 71.3% during the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,306,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,061,000 after buying an additional 1,792,200 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of PPL by 50.3% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,701,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,433,000 after acquiring an additional 1,572,771 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PPL during the first quarter valued at about $31,713,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,217,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $116,105,000 after acquiring an additional 755,689 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About PPL

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.