PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Acquired by EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 69.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 846 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $67,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PPL. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in PPL in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in PPL by 1,092.2% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in PPL by 84.5% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Newton One Investments LLC acquired a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at about $71,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.70.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $47,675.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,951.32. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $359,186.40. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL opened at $35.01 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.93 and a fifty-two week high of $35.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The business’s 50-day moving average is $33.87 and its 200-day moving average is $33.16.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. Equities research analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.2725 dividend. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

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.