PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Stock Position Lifted by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 631,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,470 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.09% of PPL worth $20,888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $162,882,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189,339 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $160,977,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,820 shares during the period. Electron Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of PPL by 71.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,792,200 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of PPL by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,228,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $89,808,000 after buying an additional 104,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 8.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,571,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,098,000 after buying an additional 202,296 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $34.00 on Tuesday. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $25.35 and a 12 month high of $34.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $25.09 billion, a PE ratio of 30.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.51.

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

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PPL has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

PPL 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.