Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Takes $2.74 Million Position in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 75,782 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,736,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PPL. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 40,298 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,318,000 after buying an additional 3,510 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 613.8% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 122,774 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,985,000 after buying an additional 105,574 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 11,570 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 46,606 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,513,000 after buying an additional 2,805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 16,168 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 1,391 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 45,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,633,781.60. This represents a 4.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays upgraded 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 hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $36.70.

PPL Price Performance

PPL opened at $37.12 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $27.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $34.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.83. PPL Corporation has a 52-week low of $30.76 and a 52-week high of $37.31.

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 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 company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. PPL's revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

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.

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