PPL Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:PPL)

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 11,751 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 658% compared to the average volume of 1,550 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $35.70.

PPL Trading Down 0.4 %

PPL stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $36.12. 1,401,011 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,289,984. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $26.69 billion, a PE ratio of 29.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.66. PPL has a 12-month low of $27.02 and a 12-month high of $36.66.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.09 billion. Research analysts expect that PPL will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.2725 dividend. This is a boost from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $47,675.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares in the company, valued at $376,951.32. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total transaction of $39,857.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. The trade was a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in PPL by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,677,941 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $572,300,000 after purchasing an additional 500,058 shares in the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC increased its stake in shares of PPL by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,997,610 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $64,842,000 after buying an additional 124,275 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in PPL by 128.0% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 82,063 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,641,000 after acquiring an additional 46,071 shares in the last quarter. Aviso Wealth Management purchased a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter worth approximately $256,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in PPL by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 696,487 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $22,608,000 after acquiring an additional 16,188 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.