PPL (NYSE:PPL) Reaches New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $36.64 and last traded at $36.21, with a volume of 5113260 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $36.13.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup raised PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $35.27.

PPL Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $34.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $25.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65.

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PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. On average, analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.2725 dividend. This is a boost from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.08%.

Insider Activity

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was 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 directly owns 10,845 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $359,186.40. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total transaction of $39,857.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,668.26. This trade represents a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of PPL

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in PPL by 7.1% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 35,796 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,184,000 after buying an additional 2,382 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter valued at about $386,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of PPL by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 160,417 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,305,000 after acquiring an additional 13,169 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in PPL by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 80,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,655,000 after acquiring an additional 9,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in PPL by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 671,173 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $22,202,000 after acquiring an additional 14,971 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

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.