PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) Stock Has Average Price Target of $40.12

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: PPL has a “Moderate Buy” consensus from 16 brokerages, with an average 12-month price target of $40.12.
• Quarterly results topped expectations: PPL reported EPS of $0.54 versus the $0.53 consensus and revenue of $2.50 billion versus $2.41 billion; revenue increased 11.5% year over year.
• PPL pays a quarterly dividend of $0.285 per share, equivalent to $1.14 annually and a 3.2% yield at the price cited in the article.

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $40.12.

PPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of PPL from $41.00 to $38.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of PPL in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st.

PPL Stock Up 0.0%

PPL opened at $35.72 on Wednesday. PPL has a 1 year low of $31.56 and a 1 year high of $40.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $34.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.05. The company has a market cap of $26.88 billion, a PE ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.75.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. PPL had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 13.62%. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. PPL has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.920-1.960 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that PPL will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were issued a $0.2850 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.14%.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other news, EVP Wendy Stark sold 5,406 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.11, for a total value of $189,804.66. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 99,220 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,614.20. This represents a 5.17% 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. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the second quarter worth $187,326,000. Bahl & Gaynor LLC bought a new stake in PPL during the third quarter valued at about $133,070,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in PPL by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,157,814 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $114,787,000 after buying an additional 208,820 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in PPL by 23.7% during the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,056,733 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $74,762,000 after acquiring an additional 393,748 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in PPL by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,837,296 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $66,786,000 after purchasing an additional 157,005 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company's stock.

About PPL

PPL Corporation is an energy company that owns regulated electric and natural gas utilities. Its businesses generate, transmit and distribute electricity and deliver natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers. PPL serves customers in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Rhode Island through subsidiaries including PPL Electric Utilities, Louisville Gas and Electric Company, Kentucky Utilities and Rhode Island Energy. Its utility operations maintain the infrastructure used to provide energy and support related customer services.

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