Hudock Inc. Cuts Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Hudock Inc. decreased its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 695 shares during the period. Hudock Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $762,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of PPL by 195.5% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in PPL by 1,092.2% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC acquired a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $32,843.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at $1,520,460.72. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,513.60. This represents a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 19,794 shares of company stock worth $661,338. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $34.52 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $25.60 and a 52 week high of $35.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $32.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.83.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. Equities research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 91.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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 objective on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.00.

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.