PPL (NYSE:PPL) Price Target Increased to $34.00 by Analysts at Barclays

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by analysts at Barclays from $30.00 to $34.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Barclays's price objective indicates a potential upside of 3.88% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on PPL. Bank of America increased their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PPL currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.22.

PPL Stock Performance

PPL stock traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $32.73. 4,035,824 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,848,176. PPL has a 12 month low of $23.36 and a 12 month high of $33.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.66.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 9.26%. PPL's revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that PPL will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of PPL

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 65.2% during the 1st quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 24,893 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $685,000 after acquiring an additional 9,828 shares in the last quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 0.5% during the first quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 77,512 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,087,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the first quarter worth about $93,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of PPL by 4.1% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 59,295 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,632,000 after buying an additional 2,342 shares during the period. Finally, Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC bought a new position in PPL in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company's stock.

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.