PPL (NYSE:PPL) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of PPL (NYSE:PPL) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on PPL. Citigroup increased their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.09.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $32.29 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $33.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.14. PPL has a 1-year low of $25.35 and a 1-year high of $35.15. The company has a market cap of $23.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

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

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total transaction of $314,680.35. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $427,107.90. This trade represents a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in PPL by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,115,824,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731,412 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of PPL by 11.9% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 16,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 1,710 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 32.3% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 41,169 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,362,000 after buying an additional 10,043 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in PPL by 85.7% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 111,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,834,000 after acquiring an additional 51,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co purchased a new stake in PPL during the 3rd quarter valued at about $225,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

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.