Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 7,653 Shares of PPL Corporation $PPL

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in PPL Corporation by 64.8%, now owning 19,464 shares valued at approximately $703,000.
• Several hedge funds have also increased their stakes in PPL, with institutional investors now owning 76.99% of the company's stock.
• PPL Corporation reported earnings per share of $0.32, missing estimates, though quarterly revenue rose by 7.7% year-over-year to $2.03 billion.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 64.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 19,464 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,653 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in PPL were worth $703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Boston Partners grew its holdings in PPL by 37.2% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 13,062,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $471,756,000 after purchasing an additional 3,544,282 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in PPL by 1,418.1% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP bought a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $70,063,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in PPL in the first quarter valued at approximately $60,020,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in PPL by 42.9% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,779,155 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $172,575,000 after buying an additional 1,434,778 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company's stock.

PPL Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of PPL stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $36.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,628,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,384,583. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $35.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.02. 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 company has a market cap of $27.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.33, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

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

PPL Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. PPL's payout ratio is currently 81.34%.

Insider Transactions at PPL

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PPL shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.70.

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.