BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Purchases 123,077 Shares of PPL Corporation $PPL

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S significantly increased its stake in PPL Corporation by 214.0%, owning 180,590 shares valued at approximately $6.52 million.
• PPL reported earnings of $0.32 per share, missing consensus estimates by $0.05, although its revenue of $2.03 billion exceeded expectations.
• Institutional investors now hold 76.99% of PPL's stock, reflecting strong interest as several hedge funds have adjusted their positions in the company.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its stake in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 214.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 180,590 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 123,077 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in PPL were worth $6,521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of PPL by 64.8% in the first quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 19,464 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $703,000 after buying an additional 7,653 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.3% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,598,814 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $310,503,000 after acquiring an additional 28,589 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 150.8% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 7,117 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 4,279 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL during the first quarter valued at $250,000. Finally, Ethos Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL during the first quarter valued at $1,767,000. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,633,781.60. This represents a 4.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.70.

PPL Trading Down 1.1%

PPL stock traded down $0.3950 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $36.5050. 665,062 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,616,219. The stock's fifty day moving average is $35.26 and its 200-day moving average is $34.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $27.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.64. PPL Corporation has a 52-week low of $31.22 and a 52-week high of $37.38.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 analysts' expectations of $1.99 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.81% and a net margin of 11.22%.PPL's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. PPL has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.870 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. PPL's payout ratio is 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.