LSV Asset Management Lowers Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

LSV Asset Management trimmed its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 24.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 159,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 52,400 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management's holdings in PPL were worth $5,164,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. F M Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 247,675 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,040,000 after purchasing an additional 21,847 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in PPL by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 14,921 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the period. Fernwood Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $406,000. Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 311.5% in the 4th quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 212,949 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,912,000 after acquiring an additional 161,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC increased its stake in shares of PPL by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 11,570 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $35.70.

PPL Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE PPL traded up $0.39 on Friday, reaching $35.67. 5,110,918 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,828,178. 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $34.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $26.68 and a fifty-two week high of $36.64.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.2725 dividend. This is a positive change from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. PPL's payout ratio is presently 90.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $47,675.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,259 shares in the company, valued at $376,951.32. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value 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. Insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

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.