Brooklyn Investment Group Acquires 563 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 24.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group’s holdings in PPL were worth $92,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in PPL by 195.5% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in PPL by 139.2% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in PPL by 5,759.3% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at PPL

In related news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $427,107.90. The trade was a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target 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. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays upgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.09.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $33.27 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $24.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.71, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.83. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $25.35 and a 12 month high of $35.15. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.87. 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 posted its 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 company had revenue of $2.07 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict 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 Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.97%.

PPL 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.