Centiva Capital LP Increases Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Centiva Capital LP grew its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 29,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,078 shares during the quarter. Centiva Capital LP’s holdings in PPL were worth $981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 195.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in PPL during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total transaction of $314,680.35. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at $427,107.90. This trade represents a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PPL. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on PPL in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PPL presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

PPL Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $34.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.16 billion, a PE ratio of 30.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.99. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $25.35 and a 1 year high of $35.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. PPL’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 91.96%.

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.