PPL (NYSE:PPL) PT Raised to $32.00

PPL (NYSE:PPL) had its price target increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

PPL has been the subject of a number of other reports. StockNews.com cut shares of PPL from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday. TheStreet downgraded shares of PPL from a b- rating to a c rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Argus raised shares of PPL from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 8th. Barclays raised their target price on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $32.27.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL opened at $28.09 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $20.72 billion, a PE ratio of 27.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.81. PPL has a 12 month low of $22.20 and a 12 month high of $28.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $27.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.45.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.80% and a net margin of 9.29%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that PPL will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. PPL’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of PPL by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 171,908 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,050,000 after buying an additional 9,905 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in PPL during the third quarter worth $2,412,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in PPL by 13.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,390,818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $339,048,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695,726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of PPL by 13.6% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,498,429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,303,000 after purchasing an additional 178,898 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

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.