DC Investments Management LLC Grows Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

DC Investments Management LLC boosted its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 63.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,394 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 23,074 shares during the quarter. PPL comprises 1.3% of DC Investments Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. DC Investments Management LLC's holdings in PPL were worth $1,928,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 84.5% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In related news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total transaction of $39,857.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. This trade represents a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.90.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $35.49. The stock had a trading volume of 4,788,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,909,014. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $27.24 and a 1-year high of $36.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.33, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.70. The stock's fifty day moving average is $35.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.96. 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 (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The firm's revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This is an increase from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.74%.

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.