PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Purchased by Callan Capital LLC

Callan Capital LLC boosted its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 17,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,131 shares during the quarter. Callan Capital LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in PPL in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in PPL by 1,092.2% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 139.2% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock opened at $34.75 on Friday. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $25.87 and a 12 month high of $35.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.65 billion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. Equities analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.2725 dividend. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PPL shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. 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, December 12th. Bank of America increased their price objective on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,186.40. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,513.60. The trade was a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 10,633 shares of company stock worth $346,657. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.