Empirical Finance LLC Grows Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,485 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $843,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PPL. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of PPL by 91.3% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $160,977,000 after acquiring an additional 2,778,820 shares during the period. Electron Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 71.3% in the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,306,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,200 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 50.3% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,701,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572,771 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. purchased a new stake in PPL in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,713,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in PPL by 5,390.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 563,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,625,000 after buying an additional 552,760 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of PPL opened at $33.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.09, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.81. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $25.35 and a 12 month high of $33.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $32.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. Analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PPL currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

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.