PPL (NYSE:PPL) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $33.41 and last traded at $33.39, with a volume of 201110 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $33.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.50.

PPL Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $24.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $32.43 and a 200 day moving average of $30.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. PPL’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.9% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,430,000 after purchasing an additional 55,594 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 25.3% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $162,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189,339 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 91.3% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $160,977,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,820 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,766,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $157,689,000 after purchasing an additional 35,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,792,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.