UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for PPL (NYSE:PPL) Stock

PPL (NYSE:PPL) had its price target increased by investment analysts at UBS Group from $35.00 to $36.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. UBS Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 3.85% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.27.

PPL Trading Down 0.9 %

PPL traded down $0.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $34.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,363,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,438,227. PPL has a twelve month low of $25.93 and a twelve month high of $35.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $33.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.17. The stock has a market cap of $25.59 billion, a PE ratio of 28.65, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced 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). PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. On average, analysts expect that PPL will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. This represents a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $32,843.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPL

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of PPL by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,859,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,981,760,000 after purchasing an additional 750,033 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of PPL by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 36,829,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,195,484,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070,499 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of PPL by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,215,363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720,941 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of PPL by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,160,760,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in PPL by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,465,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $891,532,000 after acquiring an additional 3,380,745 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

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.