Leelyn Smith LLC Has $2.70 Million Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Leelyn Smith LLC boosted its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 81,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,742 shares during the quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $2,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.50.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE PPL opened at $34.45 on Friday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $32.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.65. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $25.35 and a 1 year high of $35.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.81.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.97%.

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.