Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Buys New Position in PPL Corporation $PPL

Key Points

• Ceredex Value Advisors LLC has acquired 820,200 shares of PPL Corporation, valued at approximately $29.6 million, increasing its ownership to 0.11% of the company.
• PPL stocks recently received mixed analyst ratings, with target prices adjusted between $37.00 and $40.00, while maintaining an average rating of "Buy".
• PPL Corporation declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2725 per share, representing an annual yield of 3.0%, to be paid on October 1st to shareholders of record on September 10th.

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new position in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 820,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $29,617,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.11% of PPL at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in PPL by 141.0% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 723 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 94.3% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 818 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 97,800.0% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 979 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 1,057.6% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 984 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 899 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

PPL Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of PPL traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $36.52. 6,490,525 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,620,174. The firm has a market cap of $27.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.04. PPL Corporation has a 52-week low of $31.22 and a 52-week high of $37.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.59.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last released 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 analysts' expectations of $1.99 billion. PPL had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 8.81%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. PPL has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.870 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio is currently 81.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.86, for a total transaction of $77,636.90. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

PPL 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.