PPL (NYSE:PPL) Shares Up 2.2% - Still a Buy?

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 2.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $35.69 and last traded at $35.75. 813,998 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 4,458,177 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.98.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup upgraded PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. 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 objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PPL presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.27.

PPL Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $26.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The business's fifty day moving average is $34.29 and its 200 day moving average is $33.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Remove Ads

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

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL's payout ratio is presently 90.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value 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. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,668.26. This represents a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of PPL

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in PPL during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in PPL by 1,092.2% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in PPL by 84.5% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.