PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Announces $0.26 Quarterly Dividend

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, November 22nd,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.2575 per share by the utilities provider on Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th.

PPL has decreased its dividend by an average of 16.7% per year over the last three years. PPL has a payout ratio of 56.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect PPL to earn $1.83 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.03 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 56.3%.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $34.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07. PPL has a fifty-two week low of $25.35 and a fifty-two week high of $35.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $32.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.65. The company has a market cap of $25.42 billion, a PE ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.81.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released 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 company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. Analysts expect that PPL will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.