PPL (NYSE:PPL) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

Posted by Jeanne O'Marion on Mar 19th, 2023

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of PPL (NYSE:PPL – Get Rating) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

PPL has been the topic of several other research reports. TheStreet cut shares of PPL from a b rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 21st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. They issued an equal weight rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of PPL to $34.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $31.38.

PPL Stock Down 1.4 %

PPL stock opened at $26.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $19.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.05 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $28.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.13. PPL has a 52 week low of $23.47 and a 52 week high of $31.74.

PPL (NYSE:PPL – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 17th. The utilities provider reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.28. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. PPL had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 7.50%. PPL’s quarterly revenue was up 54.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. On average, analysts expect that PPL will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 9th. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. PPL’s payout ratio is 93.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other PPL news, insider David J. Bonenberger sold 29,080 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $872,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,606 shares in the company, valued at $1,038,180. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in PPL during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. bought a new position in PPL during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in PPL during the first quarter worth $27,000. CI Investments Inc. increased its position in PPL by 989.9% during the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 970 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 881 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in PPL during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 70.02% of the company’s stock.

PPL Company Profile

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PPL Corp. engages in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. It operates through the two reportable segments: Kentucky Regulated & Pennsylvania Regulated. The Kentucky Regulated segment consists of LKE’s regulated electricity generation, transmission and distribution operations of Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company as well as regulated distribution and sale of natural gas of Louisville Gas and Electric Company.