PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Bought by Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA

Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA lifted its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 29.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 183,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,229 shares during the quarter. Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA’s holdings in PPL were worth $5,967,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in PPL during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,619,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in shares of PPL by 66.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 913 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of PPL by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 150,285 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,971,000 after purchasing an additional 9,702 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of PPL by 26.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 3,393 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Fund Management LLC boosted its position in shares of PPL by 87.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 62,494 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,068,000 after purchasing an additional 29,132 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $33.40 on Tuesday. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $25.35 and a 1-year high of $35.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.65 billion, a PE ratio of 29.84, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50 day moving average is $32.93 and its 200-day moving average is $32.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. PPL’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was 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 $1,520,460.72. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,107.90. The trade was a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 19,794 shares of company stock worth $661,338. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PPL. Bank of America increased their price objective on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Citigroup raised their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.00.

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.