nVerses Capital LLC Takes Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 33,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,102,000. PPL accounts for about 0.5% of nVerses Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Leelyn Smith LLC increased its stake in shares of PPL by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 79,887 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,209,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in PPL by 15.7% in the second quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,611 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 3.4% in the second quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 11,250 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 3.1% in the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 1.4% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 26,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $869,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of PPL stock traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $32.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,522,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,860,744. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $23.88 billion, a PE ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $32.04 and a 200 day moving average of $29.60. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $23.36 and a 12 month high of $33.38.

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

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on PPL. Bank of America upped their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34.56.

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.