PPL (NYSE:PPL) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.03 EPS

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.03, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. PPL updated its FY24 guidance to $1.67-1.73 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 1.670-1.730 EPS.

PPL Stock Down 3.1 %

NYSE PPL traded down $1.00 on Friday, reaching $31.56. The company had a trading volume of 5,959,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,855,602. The company's fifty day moving average is $32.33 and its 200-day moving average is $30.04. PPL has a 1-year low of $24.78 and a 1-year high of $33.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.11.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. PPL's payout ratio is 90.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $35.40.

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.