New England Asset Management Inc. Purchases 18,565 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

New England Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 343,115 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,565 shares during the period. PPL accounts for about 1.8% of New England Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. New England Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $11,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of PPL by 195.5% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of PPL during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on PPL in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.50.

PPL Price Performance

PPL opened at $34.00 on Tuesday. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $25.35 and a twelve month high of $34.04. The firm has a market cap of $25.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.36, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.51.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.42. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.