PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Position Trimmed by Investors Research Corp

Investors Research Corp decreased its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,850 shares during the period. Investors Research Corp’s holdings in PPL were worth $606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Leelyn Smith LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 79,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,209,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in PPL by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in PPL by 3.4% in the second quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 11,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in PPL by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $409,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of PPL by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 26,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $869,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL stock traded down $0.04 on Thursday, reaching $34.23. 92,511 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,849,016. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $25.35 and a twelve month high of $34.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.60, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $32.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.57.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PPL shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.50.

PPL 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.