PPL (NYSE:PPL) PT Raised to $37.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) had its target price raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $35.00 to $37.00 in a report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider's stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on PPL. Bank of America increased their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $33.36.

PPL Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:PPL traded up $0.14 on Monday, hitting $32.60. 1,799,453 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,881,337. PPL has a 52 week low of $22.20 and a 52 week high of $32.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.71. The company has a market cap of $24.05 billion, a PE ratio of 31.72, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.82.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.05. PPL had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. PPL's revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that PPL will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. PPL's dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Leelyn Smith LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 79,887 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,209,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its stake in PPL by 15.7% during the second quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,611 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC grew its holdings in PPL by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 11,250 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. increased its stake in PPL by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 77,885 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,134,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Philadelphia Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Philadelphia Trust Co. now owns 16,851 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.