Credit Agricole S A Cuts Stake in PPL Corporation $PPL

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A has cut its stake in PPL Corporation by 87.0%, reducing its ownership to 25,225 shares valued at approximately $911,000.
• PPL Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2725 per share, set to be paid on October 1st, representing an annualized yield of 3.0%.
• In its latest financial results, PPL reported earnings per share of $0.32, missing estimates, but saw a 7.7% year-over-year increase in revenue.

Credit Agricole S A reduced its stake in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 87.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,225 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 168,254 shares during the quarter. Credit Agricole S A's holdings in PPL were worth $911,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in shares of PPL by 141.0% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. HM Payson & Co. boosted its position 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 valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AllSquare Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of PPL opened at $36.8940 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $27.28 billion, a PE ratio of 27.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a fifty day moving average of $35.26 and a 200 day moving average of $34.98. PPL Corporation has a 52-week low of $31.22 and a 52-week high of $37.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

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

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. PPL's payout ratio is 81.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.86, for a total value of $77,636.90. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 45,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,633,781.60. This trade represents a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Guggenheim increased their target price on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays upgraded PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two equities research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, PPL currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $36.70.

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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