PPL Corporation $PPL Shares Bought by Allstate Corp

Key Points

• Allstate Corp has increased its stake in PPL Corporation by 40.0% during the first quarter, now owning 31,675 shares valued at approximately $1.14 million.
• PPL Corporation's quarterly earnings report indicated an EPS of $0.32, missing the expected $0.37, even though quarterly revenue rose 7.7% year-over-year to $2.03 billion.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2725 per share, translating to an annualized amount of $1.09 and a dividend yield of 3.0%.

Allstate Corp grew its holdings in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 40.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,675 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 9,054 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp's holdings in PPL were worth $1,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 37.2% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 13,062,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $471,756,000 after buying an additional 3,544,282 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 1,418.1% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,909,371 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $105,057,000 after buying an additional 2,717,726 shares during the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $70,063,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in PPL during the first quarter worth $60,020,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in PPL by 42.9% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,779,155 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $172,575,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434,778 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PPL. Guggenheim raised their price objective on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays upgraded PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.70.

PPL Stock Performance

PPL stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $36.54. The company had a trading volume of 4,319,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,601,537. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.64. PPL Corporation has a one year low of $31.22 and a one year high of $37.38. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $35.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.02.

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

PPL Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.86, for a total value of $77,636.90. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 45,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,633,781.60. This trade represents a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

About PPL

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.