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Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for PPL (NYSE:PPL) Stock

PPL logo with Utilities background

Key Points

  • Bank of America has raised its target price for PPL stock from $38.00 to $43.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.32% from the company's previous close.
  • While PPL has an average rating of "Moderate Buy," several brokerages have differing opinions, with Weiss Ratings maintaining a "buy" and Wall Street Zen downgrading it to a "sell."
  • PPL reported $0.32 earnings per share for its last quarter, missing estimates, but had a revenue of $2.03 billion, which was above expectations and up 7.7% year-over-year.
  • Interested in PPL? Here are five stocks we like better.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by stock analysts at Bank of America from $38.00 to $43.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Bank of America's price objective suggests a potential upside of 13.32% from the company's previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on PPL. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on PPL from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded PPL from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPL has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $39.00.

View Our Latest Research Report on PPL

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE:PPL opened at $37.95 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.48. PPL has a 52-week low of $31.22 and a 52-week high of $38.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.06 billion, a PE ratio of 28.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.66.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.05). PPL had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 8.81%. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. PPL has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.870 EPS. Analysts forecast that PPL will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.86, for a total transaction of $77,636.90. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 45,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,633,781.60. This represents a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPL

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in PPL by 3.0% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,422 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 16.0% in the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,207 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 3.6% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,984 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 2.5% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 12,998 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $469,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, First Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.7% in the second quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 44,939 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,523,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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Analyst Recommendations for PPL (NYSE:PPL)

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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