Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 334,893 PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 334,893 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,871,000. PPL comprises about 2.4% of Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Graham Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 734.9% during the fourth quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 360,429 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,700,000 after acquiring an additional 317,258 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 23,777 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $772,000 after purchasing an additional 2,531 shares during the last quarter. Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $664,000. Ethic Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 945,308 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,685,000 after purchasing an additional 44,729 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other PPL news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

PPL Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE PPL traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $33.54. The company had a trading volume of 5,657,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,928,162. The company has a market capitalization of $24.79 billion, a PE ratio of 27.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.70. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $27.24 and a 1-year high of $36.70. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $35.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.98.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 3.25%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on PPL. Barclays increased their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Guggenheim increased their price target on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com raised PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.90.

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.