PPL (NYSE:PPL) Price Target Increased to $28.00 by Analysts at Mizuho

PPL (NYSE:PPL) had its price objective lifted by Mizuho from $27.00 to $28.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

PPL has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com downgraded PPL from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Thursday. Argus raised shares of PPL from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Bank of America lifted their target price on PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of PPL from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PPL presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $32.27.

PPL Stock Up 0.6 %

PPL stock opened at $28.09 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. PPL has a 1-year low of $22.20 and a 1-year high of $28.93. The company has a market cap of $20.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.81.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. PPL had a net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 8.80%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that PPL will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in PPL by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 345,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,145,000 after acquiring an additional 60,577 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. increased its position in shares of PPL by 4.0% in the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 97,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,295,000 after purchasing an additional 3,788 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in PPL by 9.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 182,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,304,000 after purchasing an additional 15,866 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in PPL by 35.1% during the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 14,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 3,674 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Advisors MI grew its stake in PPL by 7.1% during the third quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 34,792 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $820,000 after buying an additional 2,308 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.