Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Makes New $281,000 Investment in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PPL. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 5.6% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 884,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,590,000 after buying an additional 46,552 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 866,256 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $23,848,000 after purchasing an additional 60,589 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 496,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,719,000 after purchasing an additional 39,513 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 50.3% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,701,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,433,000 after buying an additional 1,572,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in PPL by 10.0% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,067,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,153,000 after buying an additional 188,160 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.50.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $33.47 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $32.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.25. The company has a market cap of $24.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.88, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29. PPL Co. has a one year low of $24.93 and a one year high of $33.58.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.97%.

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.