PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Receives $35.20 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $35.27.

PPL has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,951.32. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,186.40. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in PPL during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings 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 valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in PPL by 84.5% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $35.03 on Friday. PPL has a 1 year low of $25.93 and a 1 year high of $35.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $34.18 and its 200-day moving average is $33.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.86 billion, a PE ratio of 28.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. Equities analysts expect that PPL will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.08%.

About PPL

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.