Newton One Investments LLC Acquires New Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Newton One Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $49,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of PPL by 195.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of PPL by 139.2% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in PPL by 5,759.3% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 1,555 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at $359,186.40. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $47,675.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,259 shares in the company, valued at $376,951.32. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,794 shares of company stock worth $661,338 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE PPL opened at $33.82 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.83. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $25.35 and a 1-year high of $35.15. 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 (NYSE:PPL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.97%.

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.