PPL (NYSE:PPL) Sets New 1-Year High at $32.18

Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $32.18 and last traded at $32.15, with a volume of 526586 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.91.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PPL. StockNews.com raised shares of PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on PPL from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.18.

PPL Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.21, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $29.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.42.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.05. PPL had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPL

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PPL. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in PPL during the 2nd quarter worth $1,619,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 25.3% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $162,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189,339 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in PPL by 7.3% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 735 shares during the period. Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in PPL in the second quarter valued at about $522,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in PPL by 726.9% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 541,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,971,000 after buying an additional 475,960 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.