PPL (NYSE:PPL) Given New $31.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

PPL (NYSE:PPL) had its price target reduced by Morgan Stanley from $32.00 to $31.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PPL from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Barclays lifted their price target on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho lifted their target price on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Argus raised shares of PPL from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $32.36.

PPL Stock Up 0.2 %

PPL opened at $27.76 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.08. PPL has a 12 month low of $22.20 and a 12 month high of $29.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $28.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.29. The stock has a market cap of $20.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.82.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. PPL had a net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 8.80%. The company’s revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that PPL will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be given a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 214.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 52,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,448,000 after purchasing an additional 35,868 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in PPL by 231.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 200,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,523,000 after acquiring an additional 140,030 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc lifted its stake in PPL by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 47,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,298,000 after acquiring an additional 7,315 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in PPL during the 1st quarter worth about $83,000. Finally, Yaupon Capital Management LP grew its stake in PPL by 83.1% during the 1st quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 1,139,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,373,000 after acquiring an additional 517,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

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.