UBS Group Raises PPL (NYSE:PPL) Price Target to $36.00

PPL (NYSE:PPL) had its price objective boosted by UBS Group from $35.00 to $36.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup upgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.27.

PPL Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE PPL opened at $34.78 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $33.99 and its 200 day moving average is $33.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.67 billion, a PE ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. PPL has a twelve month low of $25.93 and a twelve month high of $35.91.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released 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). PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Research analysts forecast that PPL will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other PPL news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,668.26. This trade represents a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in PPL by 8,266.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,518,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $309,060,000 after purchasing an additional 9,404,382 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter valued at $228,509,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter valued at $147,480,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in PPL by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,115,824,000 after buying an additional 3,731,412 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in PPL by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,465,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $891,532,000 after buying an additional 3,380,745 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PPL Company 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.