PPL Corporation $PPL Shares Sold by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. has reduced its holdings in PPL Corporation by 2.3%, owning approximately 673,800 shares after selling 15,700 shares during the first quarter.
• PPL Corporation reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations of $0.37, despite revenues increasing to $2.03 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2725, with a dividend yield of 3.0%, and plans to set FY 2025 earnings guidance between 1.750-1.870 EPS.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lessened its stake in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 673,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 15,700 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.09% of PPL worth $24,331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PPL. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,422 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of PPL by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,207 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 12,998 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $469,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of PPL by 5.0% in the first quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 6,953 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. Finally, WealthTrust Axiom LLC lifted its holdings in PPL by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 8,579 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.86, for a total value of $77,636.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 45,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,633,781.60. The trade was a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays upgraded PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of PPL in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $36.70.

PPL Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of PPL traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $35.97. 4,089,003 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,891,858. PPL Corporation has a 12 month low of $31.22 and a 12 month high of $37.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $26.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.65. The stock's 50-day moving average is $35.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.13.

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

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.34%.

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.