Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Sells 1,570,910 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 10.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,920,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,570,910 shares during the quarter. PPL accounts for 1.5% of Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $460,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in PPL by 91.3% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $160,977,000 after buying an additional 2,778,820 shares during the period. Electron Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 71.3% in the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,306,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $119,061,000 after acquiring an additional 1,792,200 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 25.3% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $162,882,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189,339 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of PPL by 5,390.2% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 563,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,625,000 after acquiring an additional 552,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its position in PPL by 44.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,662,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,960,000 after acquiring an additional 510,263 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,107.90. This represents a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL opened at $34.44 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $33.00 and its 200-day moving average is $30.88. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $25.35 and a 12-month high of $35.15.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.97%.

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.