PPL (NYSE:PPL) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $33.41 and last traded at $33.39, with a volume of 201110 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $33.06.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on PPL. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

PPL Stock Down 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.30.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.97%.

Institutional Trading of PPL

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.9% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $215,430,000 after purchasing an additional 55,594 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 25.3% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $162,882,000 after buying an additional 1,189,339 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of PPL by 91.3% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $160,977,000 after buying an additional 2,778,820 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of PPL by 0.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,766,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $157,689,000 after buying an additional 35,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC grew 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 valued at $119,061,000 after buying an additional 1,792,200 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.