PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Receives $35.22 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nine analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $35.22.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PPL shares. Bank of America upped their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $38.00 target price for the company.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPL

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 65.2% in 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 holdings in shares of PPL by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 77,512 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,087,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the period. West Paces Advisors Inc. bought a new position in PPL in the 1st quarter worth $93,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in PPL by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 59,295 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,632,000 after acquiring an additional 2,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in PPL during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $203,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE:PPL traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $32.68. 2,840,918 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,838,321. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. PPL has a 52 week low of $23.36 and a 52 week high of $33.38.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The firm's revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PPL will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. PPL's payout ratio is presently 90.35%.

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.