Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Reduces Stock Position in PPL Corporation $PPL

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reduced its holdings in PPL Corporation by 44.1% in Q1, owning 754,534 shares valued at $27.25 million.
• PPL Corporation reported $2.03 billion in revenue for its last quarter, exceeding estimates, but missed earnings expectations with $0.32 per share.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2725 per share, yielding roughly 3.0%, set to be paid on October 1st.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board decreased its holdings in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 44.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 754,534 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 595,522 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.10% of PPL worth $27,246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 141.0% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 723 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in PPL by 94.3% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 818 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in PPL during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its holdings in PPL by 5,352.9% during the 1st quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 927 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in PPL by 97,800.0% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 979 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 978 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

PPL Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of PPL stock traded down $0.20 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $36.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,166,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,761,106. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.59. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.09. The company has a market capitalization of $26.79 billion, a PE ratio of 27.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.65. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.05). PPL had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 8.81%. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. PPL has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.870 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of PPL in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Two research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $36.70.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 45,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,633,781.60. This trade represents a 4.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.