Successful Portfolios LLC Invests $274,000 in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Successful Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 8,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $274,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter worth about $570,789,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of PPL by 25.3% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $162,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189,339 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of PPL by 91.3% in 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 boosted its position in shares of PPL by 437.5% in the 4th quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,890,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $132,530,000 after purchasing an additional 3,980,626 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of PPL by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,217,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $116,105,000 after purchasing an additional 755,689 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America upped their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on PPL in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.56.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL stock traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $31.58. 670,319 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,881,042. The company has a market cap of $23.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50 day moving average is $31.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.42. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $23.36 and a 1 year high of $33.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 90.35%.

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.