PPL (NYSE:PPL) Raised to Strong-Buy at Barclays

PPL (NYSE:PPL) was upgraded by research analysts at Barclays from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on PPL in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.09.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock opened at $32.29 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $33.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.83, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.82. PPL has a fifty-two week low of $25.35 and a fifty-two week high of $35.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The company’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that PPL will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $427,107.90. This trade represents a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in PPL by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,260,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,935,000 after buying an additional 96,491 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 55,594 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 10.0% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,067,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,153,000 after acquiring an additional 188,160 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new stake in PPL during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,218,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in PPL by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 67,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,229,000 after purchasing an additional 15,761 shares during 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.