Xcel Wealth Management LLC Sells 138,055 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Xcel Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 69.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 138,055 shares during the period. Xcel Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,980,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PPL. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in shares of PPL by 5.6% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 884,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $24,590,000 after acquiring an additional 46,552 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of PPL by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 866,256 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,848,000 after purchasing an additional 60,589 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 496,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,719,000 after purchasing an additional 39,513 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 52.1% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 154,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,197,000 after buying an additional 52,870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in PPL by 50.3% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,701,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,433,000 after buying an additional 1,572,771 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their target price on PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.22.

PPL Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:PPL traded down $0.13 on Tuesday, reaching $32.60. 988,820 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,829,257. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $23.36 and a 52 week high of $33.38.

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

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 90.35%.

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.