PPL (NYSE:PPL) Upgraded to “Hold” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of PPL (NYSE:PPL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on PPL. Barclays increased their target price on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of PPL from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Bank of America lifted their target price on PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Argus raised shares of PPL from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $32.50.

PPL Stock Performance

PPL stock opened at $27.02 on Wednesday. PPL has a 1 year low of $22.20 and a 1 year high of $29.03. The company’s 50-day moving average is $26.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $19.93 billion, a PE ratio of 27.02, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.81.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.02. PPL had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 8.45%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. PPL’s revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that PPL will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 103.00%.

Institutional Trading of PPL

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in PPL by 1.1% during the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 69,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,628,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPL during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,142,000. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of PPL by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 128,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,035,000 after buying an additional 41,574 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY increased its stake in shares of PPL by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 41,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $978,000 after acquiring an additional 7,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 21,298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $502,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

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.