PPL (NYSE:PPL) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Saturday . The company traded as high as $35.97 and last traded at $35.70, with a volume of 10031838 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $34.98.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on PPL shares. UBS Group increased their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.27.

PPL Trading Up 2.1 %

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 $26.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50-day moving average of $34.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.30.

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

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s payout ratio is 90.08%.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other PPL news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,668.26. This represents a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $47,675.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPL

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in PPL by 43.1% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 36,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after buying an additional 11,089 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in shares of PPL by 5.0% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 21,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $725,000 after acquiring an additional 1,052 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 109.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 121,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,004,000 after acquiring an additional 63,218 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 162,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,361,000 after acquiring an additional 8,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in PPL by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 128,853 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,262,000 after acquiring an additional 3,700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

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.