Brokerages Set PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Target Price at $32.45

Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.36.

PPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of PPL from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th.

PPL Stock Down 1.3 %

PPL stock opened at $27.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $20.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.08. PPL has a fifty-two week low of $22.20 and a fifty-two week high of $29.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $28.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.29.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. PPL had a net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 8.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that PPL will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pathstone Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the third quarter worth $340,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in PPL by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 41,649 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $969,000 after acquiring an additional 1,886 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 11.5% in the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 75,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,770,000 after acquiring an additional 7,731 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PPL during the third quarter worth approximately $665,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,907,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.