PPL (NYSE:PPL) Hits New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $35.41 and last traded at $35.51, with a volume of 230558 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $35.21.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on PPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Barclays upped their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.27.

PPL Price Performance

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $33.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.96. The stock has a market cap of $25.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. This is a positive change from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. PPL's payout ratio is 90.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $360,513.60. The trade was a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at $359,186.40. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 11,779 shares of company stock worth $386,515. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.