Tadd J. Henninger Sells 1,424 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Stock

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $47,675.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,951.32. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

PPL Trading Down 0.1 %

PPL traded down $0.03 on Wednesday, hitting $32.81. 2,898,804 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,122,749. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.21 billion, a PE ratio of 29.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.83. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $25.35 and a 12 month high of $35.15.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 91.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on PPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in PPL by 1.7% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 17,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. grew its position in shares of PPL by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 78,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,480,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 37,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in PPL by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 36,986 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,201,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.