Corebridge Financial Inc. Cuts Position in PPL Corporation $PPL

Key Points

• Corebridge Financial Inc. has reduced its stake in PPL Corporation by 5.0%, selling 15,914 shares, and now holds 303,395 shares valued at approximately $10.96 million.
• PPL Corporation has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2725 per share to be paid on October 1st, representing an annualized yield of 3.0%.
• Several hedge funds, including Harbour Investments Inc. and Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC, have recently increased their positions in PPL, indicating strong institutional interest with 76.99% of the stock owned by institutional investors.

Corebridge Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 5.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 303,395 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 15,914 shares during the quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc.'s holdings in PPL were worth $10,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in PPL by 16.0% during the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,207 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 12,998 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 6,953 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in PPL by 3.2% in the first quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,392 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its stake in PPL by 1.2% in the first quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 30,367 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,097,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 45,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,633,781.60. The trade was a 4.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Monday, hitting $36.52. 6,490,525 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,068,942. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.08. PPL Corporation has a 52-week low of $31.22 and a 52-week high of $37.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.25, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.65.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. PPL has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.870 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors 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 yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Barclays raised shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of PPL in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $36.70.

About PPL

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.