PPL (NYSE:PPL) Trading 2.2% Higher – Time to Buy?

Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) traded up 2.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $35.69 and last traded at $35.75. 813,998 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 4,458,177 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.98.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.27.

PPL Stock Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $26.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $34.18 and a 200 day moving average of $33.26.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. On average, analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.08%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in PPL during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of PPL by 84.5% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. 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.