BMO Capital Markets Has Lowered Expectations for PPL (NYSE:PPL) Stock Price

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets cut its price target on PPL from $42 to $40, while keeping an outperform rating on the utility stock.
• PPL’s latest earnings beat expectations, reporting $0.63 EPS versus the $0.61 estimate and $2.77 billion in revenue, up 10.8% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $41.67, despite mixed target changes from other firms.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $42.00 to $40.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the utilities provider's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price target would indicate a potential upside of 11.56% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on PPL. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of PPL in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded PPL from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on PPL from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on PPL from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on PPL from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.67.

PPL Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of PPL opened at $35.86 on Monday. The business's 50 day moving average is $38.32 and its 200 day moving average is $36.77. The company has a market capitalization of $26.97 billion, a PE ratio of 21.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.60. PPL has a 12-month low of $33.12 and a 12-month high of $40.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.41% and a net margin of 13.09%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. Research analysts expect that PPL will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in PPL during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in PPL by 293.8% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,071 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares during the period. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in PPL during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in PPL during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in PPL during the third quarter worth about $54,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About PPL

PPL Corporation is an energy company that owns and operates electric transmission and distribution infrastructure and provides related customer services. The company's core business centers on delivering electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers through regulated utility operations, maintaining grid reliability, responding to outages and managing customer billing and account services.

PPL's activities include construction and maintenance of distribution and transmission lines, meter and grid management, and programs to support energy efficiency and the interconnection of distributed resources.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.