PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Receives $33.75 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $33.75.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PPL. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in PPL during the fourth quarter worth about $570,789,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its position in PPL by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 8,952,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $242,616,000 after purchasing an additional 340,686 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 25.3% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $162,882,000 after buying an additional 1,189,339 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 91.3% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $160,977,000 after buying an additional 2,778,820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 437.5% in the fourth quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,890,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $132,530,000 after buying an additional 3,980,626 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Performance

PPL opened at $33.23 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $31.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.20. PPL has a 1-year low of $22.20 and a 1-year high of $33.38. The company has a market cap of $24.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.26, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.82.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.05. PPL had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that PPL will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

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.